page_title: Hotspot (geology)
section_title: Postulated hotspot volcano chains
hierarchical_section_title: Hotspot (geology) / Hotspot volcanic chains / Postulated hotspot volcano chains
caption_attribution_description: English: Postulated "hot spots"
context_page_description: In geology, the places known as hotspots or hot spots are volcanic regions thought to be fed by underlying mantle that is anomalously hot compared with the surrounding mantle. Examples include the Hawaii, Iceland and Yellowstone hotspots. A hotspot's position on the Earth's surface is independent of tectonic plate boundaries, and so hotspots may create a chain of volcanoes as the plates move above them.
  There are two hypotheses that attempt to explain their origins. One suggests that hotspots are due to mantle plumes that rise as thermal diapirs from the core–mantle boundary. The other hypothesis is that lithospheric extension permits the passive rising of melt from shallow depths. This hypothesis considers the term "hotspot" to be a misnomer, asserting that the mantle source beneath them is not in fact anomalously hot.
context_section_description: Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain (Hawaii hotspot)
  Louisville Ridge (Louisville hotspot)
  Walvis Ridge (Gough and Tristan hotspot)
  Kodiak–Bowie Seamount chain (Bowie hotspot)
  Cobb–Eickelberg Seamount chain (Cobb hotspot)
  New England Seamounts (New England hotspot)
  Anahim Volcanic Belt (Anahim hotspot)
  Mackenzie dike swarm (Mackenzie hotspot)
  Great Meteor hotspot track (New England hotspot)
  St. Helena Seamount Chain–Cameroon Volcanic Line (Saint Helena hotspot)
  Southern Mascarene Plateau–Chagos-Maldives-Laccadive Ridge (Réunion hotspot)
  Ninety East Ridge (Kerguelen hotspot)
  Tuamotu–Line Island chain (Easter hotspot)
  Austral–Gilbert–Marshall chain (Macdonald hotspot)
  Juan Fernández Ridge (Juan Fernández hotspot)
  Tasmantid Seamount Chain (Tasmantid hotspot)
caption: An example of mantle plume locations suggested by one recent group.[13] Figure from Foulger (2010).[3]
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