Hotspot (geology)

High school (ages 12+)
Geography

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/hotspot-geology

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the thermal anomaly source?Deep mantle regions with temperatures significantly exceeding ambient mantle values
2. What is the plate kinematic indicator?Generates age-progressive volcanic chains as lithospheric plates move
3. What are hotspots and how do they make volcanoes?Hotspots are deep, very hot spots in Earth's mantle that melt rock and create magma that rises to form volcanoes.
4. Why do hotspots stay in the same place while the plates move?Hotspots are stationary deep heat sources, so as the tectonic plate drifts over them, a chain of volcanoes forms with older ones farther away.

Mantle Plume: A theoretical upwelling of hot, buoyant rock from deep within the Earth's mantle.
Lithosphere: The rigid outer part of the Earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle.
Plate Kinematics: The study of the motion and forces of tectonic plates.
Thermal Diapir: A buoyant mass of hot material rising through cooler surrounding material.