The Kerguelen hotspot is a volcanic hotspot at the Kerguelen Plateau in the Southern Indian Ocean. The Kerguelen hotspot has produced basaltic lava for about 130 million years and has also produced the Kerguelen Islands, Naturaliste Plateau, Heard Island, the McDonald Islands, the Comei large igneous province in south Tibet, and the Rajmahal Traps. One of the associated features, the Ninety East Ridge, is distinguished by its over 5,000 km (3,100 mi) length, being the longest linear tectonic feature on Earth. The total volume of magma erupted in 130 million years with associated features has been estimated to be about 25,000,000 km (6,000,000 cu mi). However, as well as large igneous provinces and seamounts the hotspot has interacted with other seafloor spreading features, so this volume figure has some uncertainty.
Kerguelen hotspot in the context of Kerguelen Plateau
The Kerguelen Plateau ( /ˈkɜːrɡələn/, /kərˈɡeɪlən/), also known as the Kerguelen–Heard Plateau, is an oceanic plateau and large igneous province (LIP) located on the Antarctic Plate, in the southern Indian Ocean. It is about 3,000 km (1,900 mi) to the southwest of Australia and is roughly the size of South Africa. The plateau extends for more than 2,200 km (1,400 mi) in a northwest–southeast direction and lies in deep water.
The plateau was produced by the Kerguelen hotspot, starting with or following the breakup of Gondwana about 130 million years ago. A small portion of the plateau breaks sea level, forming the Kerguelen Islands (a French overseas territory) plus the Heard and McDonald Islands (an Australian external territory). Intermittent volcanism continues on the Heard and McDonald Islands.
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