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How are hot spots used to track plate movement?

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Answer:

Hot spots are at fixed locations in the Earth's mantle where heat from the Earth's interior rises to the surface and produces volcanism. The Earth's plates, which are slowly but constantly moving, are pierced by the uprising magma. As they move away from the hotspot, the volcanoes become dormant and are replaced by new volcanoes. The direction of the line formed from previous volcanoes indicates the direction of the plate movement.

First answer by Jones1rocks. Last edit by Jones1rocks. Contributor trust: 1563 [recommend contributor ]. Question popularity: 3 [recommend question].

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Relevant answers:

Why are hot spots used to track the movement of tectonic plates?
Because hot spots remain pretty much stationary within the earth, so as the tectonic plates move over them, they create a chain or line of volcanic islands that show the direction the plate has moved...
How are hot spots used to determine the speed of the plate movement?
hot spots are stationary and the plate move over it. this leaves a chain of volcanoes as the plates are moving. the volcanoes get younger as you approach the active hot spot. date the islands and you...
What are hot plates used for?
To cook something using direct heat (eg, put heat the contents of a saucepan).
What is a spot plate and how is it used?
Uses of Spot plate in the lab. It is a container for observing small amounts of solids.