Seamounts

The string runs from Oka in the west through to Mont Mégantic east of Sherbrooke, but is only part of a series of volcanic features curving across the North American Plate from Rankin Inlet to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and including the New England Seamounts.

Canada 2010

Seamounts are usually isolated and cone-shaped, often volcanic in origin, and are usually composed of a hard substrate.

Seamount 2008

Seamounts vary greatly in their biodiversity, can have a high degree of endemism, may be centers of speciation, and may act as "stepping stones" for the dispersal of coastal species.

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Seamounts provide habitats and spawning grounds for larger animals, including numerous fish.

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Seamounts are important and interesting for several reasons:

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Seamounts, deep-sea corals and fisheries - UNEP-WCMC Biodiversity Series 25

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Seamounts may act as regional centers of speciation, stepping stones for dispersal across the oceans and refugia for species with a shrinking range.

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Seamounts are mostly volcanic in nature and therefore are found on oceanic crust, having being formed near mid-ocean spreading ridges, over upwelling plumes and in island-arc convergent settings.

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Seamounts are literally undersea mountains rising from the bottom of the sea that do not break the water's surface.

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Seamounts create complex current patterns that can influence sea life above them.

Seamount 2008