Samoa Chain
Island chains such as Samoa and Hawaii are known as hotspots, where magma from the mantle erupts through the crust. This creates seafloor volcanoes that often rise above the ocean surface to form islands. The Samoa chain formed as the overlying crustal plate moves over the stationary injection point of the hotspot. (Illustration by Jayne Doucette, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
TOPICS: Underwater Volcanoes
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