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In contrast, if formed by past above-water volcanism, they are known as a seamount chain. The largest and best known undersea mountain range is a mid-ocean ridge, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. [1] It has been observed that, "similar to those on land, the undersea mountain ranges are the loci of frequent volcanic and earthquake activity". [2]
Most mid-ocean ridges of the world are connected and form the Ocean Ridge, a global mid-oceanic ridge system that is part of every ocean, making it the longest mountain range in the world. The continuous mountain range is 65,000 km (40,400 mi) long (several times longer than the Andes, the longest continental mountain range), and the total ...
The Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain is a mostly undersea mountain range in the Pacific Ocean that reaches above sea level in Hawaii.It is composed of the Hawaiian ridge, consisting of the islands of the Hawaiian chain northwest to Kure Atoll, and the Emperor Seamounts: together they form a vast underwater mountain region of islands and intervening seamounts, atolls, shallows, banks and reefs ...
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge (a divergent or constructive plate boundary) located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and part of the longest mountain range in the world. In the North Atlantic, the ridge separates the North American from the Eurasian plate and the African plate, north and south of the Azores triple junction.
A mid-ocean ridge is a general term for an underwater mountain system that consists of various mountain ranges (chains), typically having a valley known as a rift running along its spine, formed by plate tectonics. This type of oceanic ridge is characteristic of what is known as an oceanic spreading center, which is responsible for seafloor ...
A seamount is a large submarine landform that rises from the ocean floor without reaching the water surface (), and thus is not an island, islet, or cliff-rock.Seamounts are typically formed from extinct volcanoes that rise abruptly and are usually found rising from the seafloor to 1,000–4,000 m (3,300–13,100 ft) in height.
The underwater mountain is nearly 2 miles tall and supports a thriving deep-sea ecosystem, including a pristine coral garden the size of three tennis courts as well as a sponge garden, Virmani said.
Below the waters of the Azores are undersea valleys and large mountains that are many times larger than the terrestrial continental mountain ranges. [1] Formed by divergent boundary plate tectonics, the region is fractured and susceptible to earthquakes and natural volcanism, resulting in effusive or explosive volcanism.