A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or Crust , which allows hot, molten rock, ash, and gases to escape from below the surface.... hotspot
Hotspot (geology)
In geology, a hotspot is a location on the Earth's surface that has experienced active volcano for a long period of time. J. Tuzo Wilson came up with the idea in 1963 that volcanic chains like the Hawaiian Islands result from the slow movement of a tectonic plate across a "fixed" hot spot deep beneath the surface of the planet.... responsible for the formation of the Galápagos Islands
Galápagos Islands
Gal?pagos Islands are an archipelago of Island#Volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, 972 km west of continental Ecuador.... in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan.... . It lies below a section of the Galapagos Rise
Galapagos Rise
The Galapagos Rise is a divergent boundary located between the South American coast and the triple junction of the Nazca Plate, the Cocos Plate, and the Pacific Plate.... , the divergent boundary
Divergent boundary
In plate tectonics, a divergent boundary or divergent plate boundary is a linear feature that exists between two List of tectonic plates that are moving away from each other.... located between the South America
South America
South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere.... n coast and the triple junction
Triple junction
A triple junction is the point where the boundaries of three tectonic plates meet. At the triple junction a boundary will be one of 3 types - a Mid-ocean ridge, oceanic trench or transform fault and triple junctions can be described according to the types of plate margin that meet at them.... of the Nazca Plate
Nazca Plate
The Nazca Plate, named after the Nazca region of southern Peru, is an oceanic tectonic plate in the eastern Pacific Ocean basin off the west coast of South America.... , the Cocos Plate
Cocos Plate
The Cocos Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Central America, named for Cocos Island, which rides upon it.... , and the Pacific Plate
Pacific Plate
The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean.To the north the easterly side is a divergent boundary with the Explorer Plate, the Juan de Fuca Plate and the Gorda Plate forming respectively the Explorer Ridge, the Juan de Fuca Ridge and the Gorda Ridge.... (the Galapagos Triple Junction
Galapagos Triple Junction
The Galapagos Triple Junction is a geological area in the eastern Pacific Ocean several hundred miles west of the Galapagos Islands where three tectonic plates - the Cocos Plate, the Nazca Plate and the Pacific Plate - meet.... ). It is thought that there has been extensive interaction between the two tectonic entites (i.e.
A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or Crust , which allows hot, molten rock, ash, and gases to escape from below the surface.... hotspot
Hotspot (geology)
In geology, a hotspot is a location on the Earth's surface that has experienced active volcano for a long period of time. J. Tuzo Wilson came up with the idea in 1963 that volcanic chains like the Hawaiian Islands result from the slow movement of a tectonic plate across a "fixed" hot spot deep beneath the surface of the planet.... responsible for the formation of the Galápagos Islands
Galápagos Islands
Gal?pagos Islands are an archipelago of Island#Volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, 972 km west of continental Ecuador.... in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan.... . It lies below a section of the Galapagos Rise
Galapagos Rise
The Galapagos Rise is a divergent boundary located between the South American coast and the triple junction of the Nazca Plate, the Cocos Plate, and the Pacific Plate.... , the divergent boundary
Divergent boundary
In plate tectonics, a divergent boundary or divergent plate boundary is a linear feature that exists between two List of tectonic plates that are moving away from each other.... located between the South America
South America
South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere.... n coast and the triple junction
Triple junction
A triple junction is the point where the boundaries of three tectonic plates meet. At the triple junction a boundary will be one of 3 types - a Mid-ocean ridge, oceanic trench or transform fault and triple junctions can be described according to the types of plate margin that meet at them.... of the Nazca Plate
Nazca Plate
The Nazca Plate, named after the Nazca region of southern Peru, is an oceanic tectonic plate in the eastern Pacific Ocean basin off the west coast of South America.... , the Cocos Plate
Cocos Plate
The Cocos Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Central America, named for Cocos Island, which rides upon it.... , and the Pacific Plate
Pacific Plate
The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean.To the north the easterly side is a divergent boundary with the Explorer Plate, the Juan de Fuca Plate and the Gorda Plate forming respectively the Explorer Ridge, the Juan de Fuca Ridge and the Gorda Ridge.... (the Galapagos Triple Junction
Galapagos Triple Junction
The Galapagos Triple Junction is a geological area in the eastern Pacific Ocean several hundred miles west of the Galapagos Islands where three tectonic plates - the Cocos Plate, the Nazca Plate and the Pacific Plate - meet.... ). It is thought that there has been extensive interaction between the two tectonic entites (i.e. hotspot interaction with spreading center).
The undersea Cocos Ridge represents the track of the Galapagos hotspot as the Cocos Plate has passed over it for millions of years.
Lavas from the Galápagos hotspot have an uncommonly large section of upper mantle
Mantle (geology)
The mantle is a part of an astronomical object. The interior of the Earth, similar to the other terrestrial planets, is chemically divided into layers.... material and are in sharp contrast to more primitive, olivine-dominated lavas in Hawaii
Hawaii
File:Pahoehoe and Aa flows at Hawaii.jpgThe State of Hawaii is a U.S. state in the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia.... . Fernandina Island
Fernandina Island
Fernandina Island is the third largest, and youngest, island of the Gal?pagos Islands. The island is an active shield volcano that last erupted on May 13, 2005.... , which is the most active of the Galápagos volcanoes, completely overlies the Galápagos hotspot.
