Volcanic Hot Spots

Volcanic Hot Spots

Volcanoes are openings in the Earth's surface where molten rock, ash, and gases erupt. This molten rock is called magma when it is inside the Earth and lava when it erupts. Volcanoes are usually found at tectonic plate boundaries, where plates are moving apart or colliding. Th...

Some volcanoes form over active hotspots. Scientists have identified about 50 hotspots on Earth.

Hotspots sit directly above a rising column of hot rock called a mantle plume. These mantle plumes continuously push hot rock deep in the mantle toward the crust.

Hotspots can be found in the middle of tectonic plates, creating intraplat...