Wikipedia:Today's featured article/June 11, 2010

Loihi Seamount is an active undersea volcano located around 35 km (22 mi) off the southeast coast of the island of Hawaiʻi. It lies on the flank of Mauna Loa, the largest shield volcano on Earth. Lōʻihi Seamount is the newest volcano in the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain, a string of volcanoes that stretches over 5,800 km (3,600 mi) northwest of Lōʻihi and the island of Hawaiʻi. Unlike most active volcanoes in the Pacific Ocean that make up the active plate margins on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Lōʻihi and the other volcanoes of the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain are hotspot volcanoes and formed well away from the nearest plate boundary. Lōʻihi began forming around 400,000 years ago and is expected to begin emerging above sea level about 10,000–100,000 years from now. At its summit, Lōʻihi Seamount stands more than 3,000 m (10,000 ft) above the seafloor. A diverse microbial community resides around Lōʻihi's many hydrothermal vents. In the summer of 1996, a swarm of 4,070 earthquakes was recorded at Lōʻihi. This series included more earthquakes than any other swarm in Hawaiian history. The volcano has remained relatively active since the 1996 swarm and is monitored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the United States Geological Survey. (more...)

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