Underwater Volcanoes

Underwater Volcanoes

A volcano is a mountain with a crater at the top from which magma, rock debris, dust and other particles from the Earth’s crust can erupt. Volcanoes can be very dangerous and can not only disrupt flights, but also destroy entire cities (such as Pompeii). While volcanoes are above ground, in certain parts of the world, some volcanoes are found in the ocean below the water.

Volcanoes played an important part in the Earth’s geography, for example, the entire Hawaii islands are thought to have been formed due to eruptions of submarine volcanoes. The present short essay describes underwater volcanoes and related topics.

Underwater volcanoes are fissures deep in the water from which magma can erupt. These volcanoes are mostly situated along areas of tectonic plate movement, which are known as mid-ocean ridges. Thus, most such volcanoes are located on ocean ridges, where are the locations of the tectonic plate movements. According to estimates, there are over a million of underwater volcanoes in the world.

Many submarine volcanoes are seamounts. A seamount is defined as a mountain that does not rise about sea level and is, thus, not an island.

A volcano in Iceland. Photo by Olga

The list below includes the submarine volcanoes (in alphabetical order, the list is non-exhaustive) known to mankind today:

    Adams Seamount

    Axial Seamount

    Banua Wuhu

    Bear Seamount

    Bowie Seamount

    Campi Flegrei Mar Sicilia

    Dom Joao de Castro Bank

    Empedocles

    Emperor of China

    Ferdinandea

    Healy

    Kavachi

    Kick’ em Jenny

    Kolumbo

    Kuwae

    Loihi Seamount

    Marsili

    Moai

    Monaco Bank

    Monowai Seamount

    Myojin-sho

    Nieuwerkerk

    Orca Seamount

    Protector Shoal

    Pukao

    Rumble I

    Rumble II

    Rumble III

    Rumble IV

    Rumble V

    Submarine 1922

    Supply Reef

    Tuzo Wilson Seamounts

    Vailulu’u

    Vavilov

    Ibugos

    El Hierro

    Yersey

    West Mata

According to estimates, submarine volcanoes account for over 75% of all magma erupting on our planet. Once solidified, molten volcanic rock becomes very popular for ornaments and amulets. For example, obsidian (a type of volcanic rock) is believed to have magical properties.

Photo: Underwater volcano, in public domain