Summary:
- Most geological activity takes place at plate boundaries.
- But some activity does not.
- Much of this intraplate activity is found at hot spots.
- Hotspots are plumes of hot material that rise through the mantle.
- Hotspot volcanoes erupt when the hot material melts to create magma.
- Plates move above the hotspots, but hotspots stay in the same spot.
- This feature is a very useful tool for scientists.
- Scientists use hotspot volcanism to tell the direction and speed of a plate.