Magellan Rise (ocean plateau)

07°04.1′N 176°49.5′W[1]Magellan Rise is an oceanic plateau in the Pacific Ocean,[1] which covers a surface area of 500,000 square kilometres (190,000 sq mi).[2] There is another geological structure with the same name west from the Marshall Islands.[3]

The Magellan Rise has been called a large igneous province[lower-alpha 1] by Coffin and Endholm 2001[5] and was emplaced 145 million[4] or 135-128 million years ago, possibly as a consequence of intense volcanism at a former triple junction.[6] Alternatively, the Rise was formed by a mantle plume[7] linked to the deep "JASON superplume".[8] Candidate mantle plumes are the Easter hotspot[9] and the Foundation hotspot.[10]

The volume of rocks in the Magellan Rise is very uncertain, but may be in the range of 1,800,000 cubic kilometres (430,000 cu mi)[2] to 19,740,000 cubic kilometres (4,740,000 cu mi).[11] It apparently developed first on the Phoenix Plate before being transferred onto the Pacific Plate 125 million years ago.[12] The Magellan Rise has never risen to shallow depths, at least since the Cretaceous, and it is covered by sediments of Tithonian/Berriasian to Quaternary age.[1] The sediments include chalk, chert and limestone.[13]