| Pioneer Seamount | |
|---|---|
| Image Bathymetry of Pioneer seamount. |
|
| Summit depth | 820 m (2,690 ft) |
| Height | 1,930 m (6,332 ft) |
| Summit area | 12.8 km (6.9 nautical miles)x12.8 km (6.9 nautical miles) |
| Location | |
| Location | offshore Central California |
| Coordinates | [1] |
| Country | USA |
| Geology | |
| Type | Seamount (underwater volcano) |
| Volcanic arc/chain | Central Californian seamounts |
| Age of rock | 10.9 to 11.1 million years |
Pioneer Seamount is an undersea mountain, or seamount, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of central California.
Contents |
Pioneer Seamount is located at 37° 21.1' North Latitude, 123° 26.1' West Longitude,[1] at the base of the continental slope[2] of North America about 95 kilometers (51 nautical miles) off the coast[3] just north of San Francisco, California.[4]
The seamount is a volcano between 10.9 and 11.1 million years old. It is about 12.8 kilometers (6.9 nautical miles) long as well as about 12.8 kilometers (6.9 nautical miles) wide, and has a volume of about 135 cubic kilometers (32.4 cubic miles). It rises about 1,930 meters (6,332 feet) above the surrounding ocean floor, and its peak is a minimum of 820 meters (2,696 feet) below the ocean's surface. Samples from the seamount consist of highly vesicular alkalic basalt, hawaiite, and mugearite.[5]
A wide variety of sealife lives on the seamount. Corals dominate in deeper areas and sponges in its shallower parts.[6]
Pioneer Seamount was named for Pioneer, the first of three survey ships of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey to bear the name. Pioneer operated along the United States West Coast and in the then-Territory of Alaska during her Coast and Geodetic Survey career, which lasted from 1922 to 1941.[7]
