New Seamount discovered off coast of California

  • Thread starter Thread starter Astronuc
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    california
Click For Summary
A newly discovered seamount, resembling a giant tower, rises approximately 3,300 feet from the ocean floor and has a diameter of nearly 3,000 feet. Its summit is located about 11,352 feet below sea level, with a crater at the top measuring 1,200 feet deep. To qualify as a seamount, a feature must have a vertical relief of at least 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) above the surrounding seafloor. The U.S. Geological Survey identifies at least 63 seamounts off the California coast, primarily located 100 miles offshore and at depths of around one mile. These seamounts are estimated to be between 10 million and 25 million years old and are not classified as active volcanoes. The geological history of California indicates past volcanic activity linked to the subduction of the Farallon Plate, but current plate motion in the region is primarily lateral, limiting the formation of new magma and volcanic activity.
Astronuc
Staff Emeritus
Science Advisor
Gold Member
Messages
22,399
Reaction score
7,253
A seamount, as underwater mountains are called, was discovered by a seafloor mapping drone and its shape is more like a giant tower than a mountain.

It rises about 3,300 feet, has “relatively steep, smooth sides” and is rounded, with a diameter of nearly 3,000 feet, officials say.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/startlingly-round-formation-steep-smooth-141125280.html
The summit of the seamount is about 11,352 feet below sea level. Meanwhile, the crater at the top of it is 1,200 feet deep, data shows.

“There is a broad size distribution for seamounts but to be classified as a seamount, the feature must have a vertical relief of at least 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) above the surrounding seafloor.”

The U.S. Geological Survey reports “there are at least 63 seamounts” off California, and most of them are 100 miles offshore and a mile deep. It’s estimated they are 10 million to 25 million years old, and none are active volcanoes, the USGS says.
 
  • Like
  • Wow
Likes BillTre, dlgoff and berkeman
Earth sciences news on Phys.org
Bystander said:
"...none are active...." Now they've done it.
Not to worry...
California at one time many millions of years ago had lots of volcanic activity, due to the subduction of the Farallon Plate. Subduction continues to this day with remnants of the Farallon Plate, but only well north of San Francisco (Juan de Fuca Plate) and south of the southern tip of Baja California (Rivera and Cocos Plates). Plate motion for most of California is lateral, so there is no heavy seabed rock being subducted and heated to form magma that can feed volcanoes in this region.
North of there is a different story, as the video of magma activity below the Three Sisters and relatively recent eruption of Mt. St. Helens show.
 
  • Informative
  • Like
Likes Tom.G, berkeman, BillTre and 1 other person

Similar threads

Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
4K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
3K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
4K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
4K