

Although there are over 30,000 seamounts in the Pacific Ocean alone, only about 0.1% of them have been explored. The data gathered during the studies fueled the making of Davidson Seamount into a part of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in 2009.Ī seamount such as Davidson is an underwater volcano this one rises 7,480 ft (2,280 m) above the surrounding ocean floor. Davidson Seamount is populated by a dense population of large, ancient corals, some of which are over 100 years of age. Studied only sparsely for decades, NOAA expeditions to the seamount in 20 cast light upon its unique deep-sea coral ecosystem. ĭiscovered during the mapping of California's coast in 1933, Davidson Seamount is named after geographer George Davidson of the U.S. The seamount is biologically diverse, with 237 species and 27 types of deep-sea coral having been identified. From base to crest, the seamount is 7,480 ft (2,280 m) tall, yet its summit is still 4,101 ft (1,250 m) below the sea surface. At 26 mi (42 km) long and 8 mi (13 km) wide, it is one of the largest known seamounts in the world. a "mountain that rises from the floor of the ocean and does not breach the water's surface" is called a seamount.ĭavidson Seamount is an underwater volcano located off the coast of Central California, 80 mi (129 km) southwest of Monterey and 75 mi (121 km) west of San Simeon.

The Davidson Seamount is at Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. Los Angeles submarine canyons Perspective view looks north over the San Gabriel (A) and Newport (B) submarine canyons. The seamount and its volcano once extended above the sea surface, but eroded and sank as the seamount and the seabed at its base were carried further away from the spreading center from which it presumably originated. Samples from the seamount consist of highly vesicular alkalic basalt, hawaiite, and mugearite. It rises about 1,930 meters (6,330 feet) above the surrounding ocean floor, and its peak is a minimum of 820 meters (2,690 feet) below the ocean's surface. It is about 12.8 kilometers (8.0 miles) long as well as about 12.8 kilometers (8.0 miles) wide, and has a volume of about 135 cubic kilometres (32 cubic miles). The seamount is a volcano between 10.9 and 11.1 million years old.

Pioneer Seamount is located at 37° 21.1' North Latitude, 123° 26.1' West Longitude, at the base of the continental slope of North America about 95 kilometers (59 miles) off the coast just southwest of San Francisco, California. Pioneer Seamount is an undersea mountain, or seamount, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of central California.
