Bowie Seamount

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Bowie Seamount

Map of Kodiak-Bowie Seamount chain
Summit depth 24 meters (79 feet)
Height ~3,000 m (10,000 ft)
Location North Pacific Ocean, 180 kilometers west of the Queen Charlotte Islands
Coordinates 53.3° N 135.63° W [1]
Country Canada
Type Submarine volcano
Volcanic arc/chain Kodiak-Bowie Seamount chain
Age of rock Pleistocene
Last eruption 18,000 BP

The Bowie Seamount is a submarine volcano, located 180 kilometers west of the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, Canada. It is perhaps the shallowest seamount in Canada's Pacific waters. It rises from a depth of nearly 3,000 m (9,843 ft) to within 24 meters of the sea surface,[2] making it the tallest volcano in Canada when measured from base to summit. By comparison, if the Bowie Seamount were on land it would stand nearly 600 meters higher than the main peak of Whistler Mountain in southern British Columbia and only 800 meters below that of Mount Robson, which is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies.[3]

B. C.’s Bowie Seamount was designated as Canada’s Seventh Marine Protected Area on Saturday, April 19, 2008. The announcement was made by federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn and Guujaaw, President of the Council of Haida Nation, at a community celebration held at the new Kaay Llnagaay Haida Heritage Centre in Skidegate, Queen Charlotte Islands - Haida Gwaii. [1]

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[edit] Geology

The Bowie Seamount is fairly young, believed to have developed by the Bowie hotspot less than one million years ago. However, its summit is even younger and shows signs of volcanic activity as recently as 18,000 years ago. Because of its shallow depth, scientists believe it was an active volcanic island throughout the last ice age. The seamount is 55 kilometers long and 24 kilometers wide at its bottom. It is a member of the Kodiak-Bowie Seamount chain, which was created by the Bowie hotspot as the Pacific Plate drifted in a northwesterly direction.

[edit] Biology

The Bowie Seamount is known to support a biological rich area with a dynamic and productive ecosystem. Surveys have recorded high densities of crab, sea stars, sea anemones, sponges, squid, octopus and many species of fish including rockfish, halibut and sablefish. Eight species of marine mammal have been observed around Bowie; these include Stellar Sea Lions, Orca, humpback and sperm whales as well as 16 species of seabirds. Because of this unique biological rich area, Bowie Seamount was declared a Pilot Marine Protected Area on December 8, 1998.[4]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Seamount search. Retrieved on 2007-08-13.
  2. ^ The Bowie Seamount. Retrieved on 2007-08-13.
  3. ^ The Bowie Seamount area Retrieved on 2007-09-26
  4. ^ Bowie Seamount Marine Protected Area