Hotspots Geology U S National Park Service A hotspot is a large plume of hot mantle material rising from deep within the earth. a line of volcanoes develops as a plate moves over a hotspot, much as a line of melted wax forms as a sheet of waxed paper is moved slowly over a burning candle. several national park service sites lie above hotspots, or within volcanic regions formed as plates. Continental hotspot. the pacific northwest of the united states has a variety of active tectonic settings, including plate convergence at the cascadia subduction zone and divergence in the basin and range continental rift zone. but superimposed on these active tectonic features is a line of volcanic activity stretching from the columbia plateau.
Hotspots Geology U S National Park Service Oceanic hotspot. national park service sites in hawaii provide an exceptional glimpse at landscapes developing as a tectonic plate capped by thin oceanic crust moves over a hotspot. broad, gently sloping shield volcanoes develop on the seafloor as the pacific plate moves over the hawaiian hotspot. National park service sites in the appalachian mountains offer an opportunity for visitors to experience the overall landscape and local geology of an ancient continental collision zone. the blue ridge parkway stretches 469 miles (755 kilometers), from shenandoah national park on the northeast to great smoky mountains national park on the. Shaded relief map of united states, highlighting national park service sites along modern and ancient passive continental margins. letters are abbreviations for parks listed in table, below. modified from “parks and plates: the geology of our national parks, monuments and seashores,” by robert j. lillie, new york, w. w. norton and company. A frequently used hypothesis suggests that hotspots form over exceptionally hot regions in the mantle, which is the hot, flowing layer of the earth beneath the crust. mantle rock in those extra hot regions is more buoyant than the surrounding rocks, so it rises through the mantle and crust to erupt at the surface.
Continental Hotspot Geology U S National Park Service Shaded relief map of united states, highlighting national park service sites along modern and ancient passive continental margins. letters are abbreviations for parks listed in table, below. modified from “parks and plates: the geology of our national parks, monuments and seashores,” by robert j. lillie, new york, w. w. norton and company. A frequently used hypothesis suggests that hotspots form over exceptionally hot regions in the mantle, which is the hot, flowing layer of the earth beneath the crust. mantle rock in those extra hot regions is more buoyant than the surrounding rocks, so it rises through the mantle and crust to erupt at the surface. Earth's layers. earth is differentiated into three main layers (crust, mantle and core) due to different chemical composition. our planet has a dense iron core, a mantle of silicates rich in iron and magnesium, and a crust with lighter silicates. modified from “beauty from the beast: plate tectonics and the landscapes of the pacific northwest. Site index & credits. plate tectonics and our national parks (2020) text and illustrations by robert j. lillie, emeritus professor of geosciences, oregon state university [e mail] produced under a cooperative agreement for earth science education between the national park service's geologic resources division and the american geosciences institute.
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