A mantle plume is a large column of magma that slowly seeps its way from the mantle up and into the lithosphere. As it rises it melts away at the rock and eventually melts through the crust, creating a "plume" of magma at the site. Magma plumes are unique in that they are normally not found near a boundary.
Most other sources of magma, like volcanoes, are usually created by some spreading or meeting of...
A mantle plume is a large column of magma that slowly seeps its way from the mantle up and into the lithosphere. As it rises it melts away at the rock and eventually melts through the crust, creating a "plume" of magma at the site. Magma plumes are unique in that they are normally not found near a boundary.
Most other sources of magma, like volcanoes, are usually created by some spreading or meeting of tectonic plates. A divergent or transform boundary may create a gap, leading to a leaking of magma, or a convergent boundary can create volcanoes to build in one of the plates and erupt once pressure becomes too great. Magma plumes are not created by the meeting of plates but instead just by a rising of magma. One great example is the Hawaiian islands. These islands were created as a magma plume seeped upwards through the Pacific oceanic plate and made a spot that leaked magma as the plate moved. Wherever the plate allowed the plume to release the most magma a larger island was formed.
In conclusion, while magma can be found at some transform boundaries, these sites would normally not be called magma plumes. A magma plume could start somewhere nearby, but a plume is defined as starting somewhere inside a plate rather than at a boundary. I hope this helps!
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