Great Meteor hotspot track
Encyclopedia
The Great Meteor hotspot track, also referred to as the New England hotspot track, is a vast hotspot
Hotspot (geology)
The places known as hotspots or hot spots in geology are volcanic regions thought to be fed by underlying mantle that is anomalously hot compared with the mantle elsewhere. They may be on, near to, or far from tectonic plate boundaries. There are two hypotheses to explain them...

 track in the Northern Hemisphere
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...

, stretching over 5800 km (3,604 mi) from Nunavut
Nunavut
Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...

 in Northern Canada
Northern Canada
Northern Canada, colloquially the North, is the vast northernmost region of Canada variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three territories of Canada: Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut...

 to the northern Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

. Volcanism within the hotspot track is produced by the New England or Great Meteor hotspot
New England hotspot
The New England hotspot, also referred to as the Great Meteor hotspot, is a long-lived volcanic hotspot in the Atlantic Ocean. The hotspot's most recent eruptive center is the Great Meteor Seamount, and it probably created a short line of mid to late-Tertiary age seamounts on the African Plate but...

 and spans a period of 196 million years during the early Jurassic
Early Jurassic
The Early Jurassic epoch is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic period...

 period, making it one of the oldest hotspot tracks on Earth. The hotspot track contains over 80 volcanoes, with the most recognizable volcanics located in the Atlantic Ocean where they form 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 depth. They are defined by oceanographers as...

s.

See also

  • List of volcanoes in Canada
  • Volcanism of Canada
  • Volcanism of Northern Canada
    Volcanism of Northern Canada
    Volcanism of Northern Canada has led to the formation of hundreds of volcanic areas and extensive lava formations across Northern Canada, indicating volcanism played a major role in shaping its surface...

  • Volcanism of Eastern Canada
    Volcanism of Eastern Canada
    Volcanism of Eastern Canada has led to the formation of hundreds of volcanic areas and extensive lava formations, indicating volcanism played a major role in shaping its surface. The region's different volcano and lava types originate from different tectonic settings and types of volcanic...

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