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The Louisville hotspot is a volcanic
Volcano

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 volcanic activity that has formed the Louisville seamount chain
Louisville seamount chain

The Louisville seamount chain is an underwater chain of over 70 seamounts in the Southwest Pacific Ocean. One of the longest seamount chains on Earth, it stretches some 4,300 kilometres from the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge ENE to Tonga Trench-Kermadec Trench, where it subducts under the Indo-Australian Plate as part of the Pacific Plate....
 in the southern 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....
.

Louisville hotspot is believed to lie close to the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge
Pacific-Antarctic Ridge

The Pacific-Antarctic Ridge is a divergent tectonics plate boundary located on the seafloor of the South Pacific Ocean, separating the Pacific Plate from the Antarctic Plate....
, although its exact location is, however, uncertain.

Louisville hotspot has produced the Louisville seamount chain
Louisville seamount chain

The Louisville seamount chain is an underwater chain of over 70 seamounts in the Southwest Pacific Ocean. One of the longest seamount chains on Earth, it stretches some 4,300 kilometres from the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge ENE to Tonga Trench-Kermadec Trench, where it subducts under the Indo-Australian Plate as part of the Pacific Plate....
, which is one of the longest seamount
Seamount

A seamount is a mountain rising from the ocean seafloor that does not reach to the water's surface , and thus is not an island. These are typically formed from extinct volcanoes, that rise abruptly and are usually found rising from a seafloor of 1,000?4,000 meters depth....
 chains on Earth, stretching some from the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge where it subducts under the Indo-Australian Plate
Indo-Australian Plate

The Indo-Australian Plate is a major tectonic plate that includes the Australia and surrounding ocean, and extends northwest to include the Indian subcontinent and adjacent waters....
 as part of 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 Louisville hotspot is believed to have been active for at least 80 million years based on age of the Louisville seamount chain, which is comparable to that of the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain
Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain

The Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain is composed of the Hawaiian Islands, consisting of the islands of the Hawaiian chain northwest to Kure Atoll, and the Emperor Seamounts, a vast underwater mountain region of islands and intervening seamounts, atolls, shallows, banks and reefs along a line trending southeast to northwest beneath the northern...
, although the rate of volcanism at the two chains are relatively different and the Louisville chain has a relatively small bend unlike the Hawaiian-Emperior chain.






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Encyclopedia


Hotspots
The Louisville hotspot is a volcanic
Volcano

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 volcanic activity that has formed the Louisville seamount chain
Louisville seamount chain

The Louisville seamount chain is an underwater chain of over 70 seamounts in the Southwest Pacific Ocean. One of the longest seamount chains on Earth, it stretches some 4,300 kilometres from the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge ENE to Tonga Trench-Kermadec Trench, where it subducts under the Indo-Australian Plate as part of the Pacific Plate....
 in the southern 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....
.

Location

The Louisville hotspot is believed to lie close to the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge
Pacific-Antarctic Ridge

The Pacific-Antarctic Ridge is a divergent tectonics plate boundary located on the seafloor of the South Pacific Ocean, separating the Pacific Plate from the Antarctic Plate....
, although its exact location is, however, uncertain.

Geological history

The Louisville hotspot has produced the Louisville seamount chain
Louisville seamount chain

The Louisville seamount chain is an underwater chain of over 70 seamounts in the Southwest Pacific Ocean. One of the longest seamount chains on Earth, it stretches some 4,300 kilometres from the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge ENE to Tonga Trench-Kermadec Trench, where it subducts under the Indo-Australian Plate as part of the Pacific Plate....
, which is one of the longest seamount
Seamount

A seamount is a mountain rising from the ocean seafloor that does not reach to the water's surface , and thus is not an island. These are typically formed from extinct volcanoes, that rise abruptly and are usually found rising from a seafloor of 1,000?4,000 meters depth....
 chains on Earth, stretching some from the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge where it subducts under the Indo-Australian Plate
Indo-Australian Plate

The Indo-Australian Plate is a major tectonic plate that includes the Australia and surrounding ocean, and extends northwest to include the Indian subcontinent and adjacent waters....
 as part of 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 Louisville hotspot is believed to have been active for at least 80 million years based on age of the Louisville seamount chain, which is comparable to that of the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain
Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain

The Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain is composed of the Hawaiian Islands, consisting of the islands of the Hawaiian chain northwest to Kure Atoll, and the Emperor Seamounts, a vast underwater mountain region of islands and intervening seamounts, atolls, shallows, banks and reefs along a line trending southeast to northwest beneath the northern...
, although the rate of volcanism at the two chains are relatively different and the Louisville chain has a relatively small bend unlike the Hawaiian-Emperior chain. During the Early Oligocene
Oligocene

The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Geologic Timescale and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present....
 period, the Louisville hotspot's magma source rate was much steadier than the Hawaii hotspot
Hawaii hotspot

Name=Hawaiian-Emperior seamount chain| Map=...
 rate, and had a lower total volume in eruption. During the Late Oligocene, the magma source decreased to a small fraction of that in the Hawaiian-Emperior seamount chain such that none of the volcanoes emerged above sea level in the past 11 million years. The Louisville seamount chain is only half as wide as the Hawaiian-Emperior seamount chain. Therefore, unlike the Hawaii hotspot, the Louisville hotspot is believed to have decreased in activity with time.