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Endeavour Segment

Fissure vent · Canada · 2050m (submarine)

This 360°C black smoker chimney is located in the Endeavour Ridge segment of the Main Endeavour hydrothermal field at the northern end of the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Tube worms with red gills thrive on the edifice, which is predominantly composed of iron- and sulfur-bearing minerals. The 90-km-long ridge segment, which lies west of the coast of Washington and SW of Vancouver Island, is the site of vigorous high-temperature hydrothermal vent systems that were first discovered by scientists in 1981.
This 360°C black smoker chimney is located in the Endeavour Ridge segment of the Main Endeavour hydrothermal field at the northern end of the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Tube worms with red gills thrive on the edifice, which is predominantly composed of iron- and sulfur-bearing minerals. The 90-km-long ridge segment, which lies west of the coast of Washington and SW of Vancouver Island, is the site of vigorous high-temperature hydrothermal vent systems that were first discovered by scientists in 1981. · Photo: Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Explorer and University of Washington.
Type
Fissure vent
Country
Canada
Region
Eastern Pacific Volcanic Regions / Northeast Pacific Rifts Volcanic Province
Elevation
2050m (submarine)
Coordinates
47.950, -129.100
Last eruption
-3490
Tectonic setting
Rift zone / Oceanic crust (< 15 km)
Landform
Cluster
Major rock type
Basalt / Picro-Basalt
Geological summary

The Endeavour Segment (or Ridge) lies near the northern end of the Juan de Fuca Ridge, W of the coast of Washington and SW of Vancouver Island. The northern end is offset to the east with respect to the West Valley Segment, which extends north to the triple junction with the Sovanco Fracture Zone and the Nootka Fault. The 90-km-long, NNE-SSW-trending segment lies at a depth of more than 2,000 m and is the site of vigorous high-temperature hydrothermal vent systems that were discovered in 1981. Five major vent fields that include sulfide chimneys and black smoker vents are spaced at about 2-km intervals in a 1-km-wide axial valley at the center of the ridge. Preliminary uranium-series dates of Holocene age were obtained on basaltic lava flows, and other younger "zero-age" flows were sampled. Seismic swarms were detected in 1991 and 2005.

Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
6930 BCE~6739 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 03681 BCE~3490 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 06930 BCE6166 BCE5210 BCE4446 BCE3681 BCE

Detailed timeline

  1. 3490 BCEVEI 0Geological estimate
    BCE 3490 – Ongoing
  2. 6930 BCEVEI 0Geological estimate
    BCE 6930 – Ongoing

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.