Hotspot Volcanism
- Hotspot volcanism is a type of volcanism that typically occurs at the interior parts of the lithospheric plates rather than at the zones of convergence and divergence (plate margins).
- Hotspot volcanism occurs due to abnormally hot centres in the mantle known as mantle plumes.
- For example – Hawaiian Hotspot, the Reunion Hotspot, and the Deccan traps.
Mantle Plumes
- A mantle plume is an area under the rocky outer layer of Earth, called the crust, where magma is hotter than the surrounding magma.
- The heat from this extra hot magma causes melting and thinning of the rocky crust, which leads to widespread volcanic activity on Earth’s surface above the plume.
