The Paps is a
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
seamount of the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
, located in the
Canary Islands Seamount Province (CISP). Featuring an elongated shape, it has a height of 2,700 metres.
Description
The seamount lies at about 25.92°N 20.30°W, about 300 km to the southwest of
El Hierro
El Hierro, nicknamed ''Isla del Meridiano'' (the "Meridian Island"), is the second-smallest and farthest-south and -west of the Canary Islands (an autonomous community of Spain), in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa, with a populatio ...
. The age of the seamount has been estimated to 91.1 ± 0.2 million years. The seamount, whose top rises up to 1,600 m below sea level from a base that stands at 4,300 m below sea level, consists of a main block elongated along a N–S direction, featuring a secondary NW–SE ridge sprouting from the south east of the main edifice. It features a surface of 2,080 km
2.
Common features with the neighbouring Drago seamount, such an elongated shape and the presence of several small volcanic cones, suggest both seamounts may share a similar formation process.
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Seamounts of the Atlantic Ocean