Volcanic activity generated where a persistent plume of unusually hot mantle material rises toward the surface independent of tectonic plate boundaries, melting through the crust above it regardless of the crust's own motion. As a tectonic plate drifts over a stationary hot spot, it leaves behind a trail of progressively older volcanoes, as seen in the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain.
Facts
Process Type Timescalemillions of years for a hotspot volcanic trail to form as a tectonic plate moves over the hotspot 2 First Proposed Year Connections
Sources
1. Volcano - Wikipedia
Introduction sectionQuote, Introduction section
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging
2. Hotspot (geology) - Wikipedia
Origin section, J. Tuzo Wilson 1963 postulate
The origins of the concept of hotspots lie in the work of J. Tuzo Wilson, who postulated in 1963 that the formation of the Hawaiian Islands resulted from the slow movement of a tectonic plate across a hot region beneath the surface.
Hotspot Volcanic Chains section
Over millions of years, the Pacific plate has moved over the Hawaii hotspot, creating a trail of underwater mountains that stretches across the Pacific.
Origin section, mantle plume description
It was later postulated that hotspots are fed by streams of hot mantle rising from the Earth's core-mantle boundary in a structure called a mantle plume.
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