Meaning in geology & earth sciences, with examples
/ˈhɑːtspɑːt/nounCommon term
In geology & earth sciences, hotspot means: An area of volcanic activity in the middle of a plate, thought to be fed by a plume of unusually hot rock rising from deep in the mantle.
In Turkish: sıcak nokta
How it is used
Hawaii and Yellowstone are the best-known examples. As a plate moves over a hotspot, it leaves a chain of volcanoes that get older with distance. Also written 'hot spot'. Related term: mantle plume.
Example sentences
The Hawaiian Islands formed as the Pacific Plate moved over a hotspot.
Hotspot volcanoes can form far from any plate boundary.
Common collocations
hotspot volcano
hotspot track
mantle plume
hotspot activity
Related terms
volcanoAn opening in the Earth's crust where magma, gas and ash come out, and the mountain or hill built around it by repeated eruptions.
mantleThe thick layer of hot, mostly solid rock between the crust and the core, reaching a depth of about 2,900 km. It flows very slowly over millions of years.
tectonic plateOne of the large, rigid pieces of the Earth's lithosphere that move slowly over the mantle, usually by a few centimetres a year.
basaltA dark, fine-grained igneous rock formed when lava cools quickly at or near the surface. It is the most common volcanic rock and makes up the ocean floor.
