Canary Islands Seamount Province

Map of the CISP (Rivera et al, 2016)

The Canary Islands Seamount Province (CISP) is located in the Atlantic Ocean between 23º and 33º north.[1] It comprises the seven major islands of the Canary Islands archipelago, the two islets of the Savage Islands and 16 seamounts scattered along an area of 540,000 km2 parallel to the northwestern coastline of the African Continent.[1][2] Besides its geographical distribution, the components of the province share a series of geochemical similarities.[1]

Three different alignments have been described within the CISP:

  • A SW-NE stretch going from the Tropic Seamount to the westernmost point of the Canarian archipelago.[3]
  • A central NNW-ESE stretch from the Canarian islands of La Palma and El Hierro to the island of Fuerteventura (400 km long).[4]
  • The so-called Canary Ridge, initially following SW-NE direction from Fuerteventura to the Concepción Bank, and from there following a S-N direction from the Concepción Bank to the Essaouira Seamount.[1]
  1. ^ a b c d Rivera et al. 2016.
  2. ^ Carracedo, Juan Carlos; Troll, Valentin R. (2021-01-01), "North-East Atlantic Islands: The Macaronesian Archipelagos", in Alderton, David; Elias, Scott A. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Geology (Second Edition), Oxford: Academic Press, pp. 674–699, doi:10.1016/b978-0-08-102908-4.00027-8, ISBN 978-0-08-102909-1, S2CID 226588940, retrieved 2021-03-29
  3. ^ Zaczek, Kirsten; Troll, Valentin R.; Cachao, Mario; Ferreira, Jorge; Deegan, Frances M.; Carracedo, Juan Carlos; Soler, Vicente; Meade, Fiona C.; Burchardt, Steffi (2015-01-22). "Nannofossils in 2011 El Hierro eruptive products reinstate plume model for Canary Islands". Scientific Reports. 5 (1): 7945. Bibcode:2015NatSR...5E7945Z. doi:10.1038/srep07945. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 4302296. PMID 25609055.
  4. ^ Carracedo, Juan Carlos; Troll, Valentin R. (2021-01-01), "North-East Atlantic Islands: The Macaronesian Archipelagos", in Alderton, David; Elias, Scott A. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Geology (Second Edition), Oxford: Academic Press, pp. 674–699, doi:10.1016/b978-0-08-102908-4.00027-8, ISBN 978-0-08-102909-1, S2CID 226588940, retrieved 2021-03-29