Hotspots are mentioned in connection with which Atlantic feature?

• A. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge
• B. The Pacific Ring of Fire
• C. The Himalayan region
• D. Hotspots: Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Answer: (D)

Hotspots are fixed mantle plumes that create volcanic activity independent of plate boundaries. In the Atlantic, the feature most closely linked to hotspot activity is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the long underwater boundary where tectonic plates are pulling apart and new crust forms. When a hotspot sits beneath or near this spreading zone, it can generate a chain of volcanic features along the ridge, forming islands and seamounts such as Iceland and the Azores. The Pacific Ring of Fire involves subduction around the Pacific, and the Himalayan region results from continental collision, not Atlantic hotspot volcanism. So hotspots are mentioned in connection with the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.