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Hots spots do not move and are located away from plate boundaries. False or True

User Botkop
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Final answer:

Hot spots are regions of volcanic activity located away from plate boundaries where the Earth's mantle is unusually hot, and they do not move relative to the mantle. The Pacific and North American Plates move over these stationary hot spots, resulting in volcanic island chains like Hawaii and significant volcanic activity under the continent, as seen with the Yellowstone and Anahim hot spots.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement that hot spots do not move and are located away from plate boundaries is true. Hot spots are regions of the Earth's mantle that are unusually hot and can produce volcanism. These hot spots are thought to be relatively stationary in comparison to the tectonic plates that move over them. One of the well-known hot spots is the Hawaiian hot spot, which has created a chain of volcanic islands as the Pacific Plate has moved over it.

Similarly, under North America, the Yellowstone hotspot and the Anahim hotspot are examples where the movement of the North American Plate over stationary hot spots has resulted in significant volcanic activity. This movement is akin to the plate rotating around an Euler pole, resulting in different speeds and directions of movement for different locations on the plate.

Hot spots can exist under both oceanic and continental crust, leading to different types of volcanic features and eruptions. The rate of motion of a tectonic plate over a hot spot is not constant; it can change over time. When comparing the Yellowstone and Anahim hot spots, one needs to consider the volcanism over the same time period and aspects such as the size of calderas to deduce which track has more volcanism and larger eruptions. These differences can be attributed to the geologic and tectonic histories as well as the topography of the area above the hot spot.

User Rafael Mori
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