The Malpelo Ridge ( es, Dorsal de Malpelo) is an elevated part of

Nazca Plate The Nazca Plate or Nasca Plate, named after the Nazca region of southern Peru, is an oceanic tectonic plate in the eastern Pacific Ocean basin off the west coast of South America. The ongoing subduction, along the Peru–Chile Trench, of the Na ...

off the Pacific coast of

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. It is a faulted chain of

volcanic rock Volcanic rock (often shortened to volcanics in scientific contexts) is a rock formed from lava erupted from a volcano. In other words, it differs from other igneous rock by being of volcanic origin. Like all rock types, the concept of volcanic r ...

of tholeiitic composition. The Malpelo Ridge may have originated simultaneously as

Carnegie Ridge The Carnegie Ridge is an aseismic ridge on the Nazca Plate that is being subducted beneath the South American Plate. The ridge is thought to be a result of the passage of the Nazca Plate over the Galapagos hotspot. It is named for the research ...

, and thus represent an old continuation of

Cocos Ridge Cocos may refer to: Geography * Cocos, Bahia, Brazil * Cocos, Quebradillas, Puerto Rico, a barrio * Cocos Island (disambiguation) ** Cocos (Keeling) Islands, a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean *** Shire of Cocos, a local government are ...

. It is thought to have acquired it present position due to tectonic movements along the

Panama Fracture Zone The Panama Fracture Zone is a major, active right lateral-moving transform fault and associated inactive fracture zone which forms part of the tectonic boundary between the Cocos Plate and the Nazca Plate. It is part of the triple junction between ...

References

Geology of Colombia Underwater ridges of the Pacific Ocean Oceanography Hotspot tracks {{tectonics-stub