You are viewing content which is not in your chosen language.

View this content in ไทย

Science glossary film: Hot spot

Hot spot

Sorry, this film is not free to view

Start trial

Please log in or subscribe to watch the full film

A fixed place within the mantle or oceanic lithosphere where rocks melt to generate magma.

A fixed place within the mantle or oceanic lithosphere where rocks melt to generate magma. This magma rises in columns, causing volcanic activity on the Earth's surface. Because hot spots remain fixed while tectonic plates move over them, they leave trails of volcanoes on the moving plates. The Hawaiian islands formed over a hot spot in this way.

This magma rises in columns, causing volcanic activity on the Earth's surface. Because hot spots remain fixed while tectonic plates move over them, they leave trails of volcanoes on the moving plates. The Hawaiian islands formed over a hot spot in this way.

Embed this film

Copy and paste the embed code above to include this film on other websites.

Share this film

Copy and paste the code above to link to this page.