Mackenzie hotspot
{{Short description|Former volcanic hotspot}}
The Mackenzie hotspot was a volcanic hotspot that existed about 1.3 billion years ago across Canada from the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. It was centred on what is now Darnley Bay on southwestern Victoria Island.
Extent
The Mackenzie hotspot is responsible for the creation of the Mackenzie Large Igneous Province, which contains the largest dike swarm on Earth.{{cite journal|doi=10.1190/1.1444345|title=Removing varying directional trends in aeromagnetic data|journal=Geophysics|volume=63|issue=2|pages=446–453|year=1998|last1=Pilkington|first1=Mark|last2=Roest|first2=Walter R.|bibcode=1998Geop...63..446P}} During its formation, eruption of plateau lavas near the Coppermine River, built an extensive volcanic plateau about 1,200 million years ago with an area of about {{convert|170000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} representing a volume of lavas of at least {{convert|500000|km3|cumi|abbr=on}}.
The Mackenzie hotspot also resulted in the opening of the Mesoproterozoic Poseidon Ocean.
See also
References
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Category:Volcanism of the Northwest Territories
Category:Mesoproterozoic volcanism
Category:Hotspots of North America
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