hotspots

Hotspots are areas on Earth's surface where intense geological activity occurs, such as volcanic eruptions or geothermal phenomena. They form when a stationary plume of hot mantle material rises up from deep within the Earth, melting through the crust and creating volcanic islands or hotspots. Unlike boundary zones between tectonic plates, hotspots remain relatively fixed, causing volcanic activity to shift over time as tectonic plates move. Examples include Hawaii and Yellowstone. Essentially, hotspots are like thermal “origins” within the Earth's interior that produce localized, persistent volcanic activity at the surface.