The Tasmantid Seamount Chain is a long chain of

seamounts A seamount is a large geologic landform that rises from the ocean floor that does not reach to the water's surface (sea level), and thus is not an island, islet or cliff-rock. Seamounts are typically formed from extinct volcanoes that rise abr ...

in the

South Pacific Ocean South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

. The chain consists of over 16 extinct volcanic peaks, many rising more than from the

seabed The seabed (also known as the seafloor, sea floor, ocean floor, and ocean bottom) is the bottom of the ocean. All floors of the ocean are known as 'seabeds'. The structure of the seabed of the global ocean is governed by plate tectonics. Most of ...

. It is one of the two parallel seamount chains alongside the

East Coast of Australia The eastern states of Australia are the states adjoining the east continental coastline of Australia. These are the mainland states of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, and the island state of Tasmania. The Australian Capital Territor ...

; the Lord Howe and Tasmantid seamount chains both run north-south through parts of the

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fren ...

and

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea ( Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer ...

. These chains have

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east– west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek let ...

s of approximately 159°E and 156°E respectively. Like its neighbour, the Tasmantid Seamount Chain has resulted from the

Indo-Australian Plate The Indo-Australian Plate is a major tectonic plate that includes the continent of Australia and the surrounding ocean and extends northwest to include the Indian subcontinent and the adjacent waters. It was formed by the fusion of the Indian an ...

moving northward over a stationary

hotspot Hotspot, Hot Spot or Hot spot may refer to: Places * Hot Spot, Kentucky, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Hot Spot (comics), a name for the DC Comics character Isaiah Crockett * Hot Spot (Tra ...

. It ranges in age from 40 to 6 million years old. Alternative names for the Tasmantid Seamount Chain include the Tasmantid Seamounts, Tasman Seamounts, Tasman Seamount Chain, Tasmantide Volcanoes or simply the Tasmantids.

Features

The Tasmantid Seamount Chain includes the following: * Barcoo Bank * Brisbane Guyot *

Britannia Guyots The Britannia Guyots (also known as Britannia Bank, Britannia Tablemount, Britannia Tablemounts, Brittania Guyots or Brittania Tablemounts) are a line of extinct volcanic seamounts in the Tasmantid Seamount Chain. They are basaltic volcanoes t ...

* Cato Reef * Derwent Hunter Guyot * Fraser Seamount * Gascoyne Seamount * Kenn Reef * Moreton Seamount * Queensland Guyot * Recorder Guyot * Stradbroke Seamount * Taupo Bank * Wreck Reefs

References

{{reflist Seamount chains Guyots Hotspot tracks Volcanoes of Australia Seamounts of the Pacific Ocean Landforms of the Coral Sea Tasman Sea Miocene volcanoes Seamounts of the Tasman Sea Volcanoes of the Tasman Sea