Volcanoes of Zealandia and the Southwest Pacific
N. Mortimer, James M. Scott
Abstract
ABSTRACT New Zealand and the southwest Pacific region have a well‐preserved geological record of Late Cretaceous to Holocene volcanism. Volcanoes and volcanic fields formed in six main tectonic settings: (1) oceanic crust; (2) large igneous provinces; (3) subduction‐related volcanic chains; (4) intraplate related to Late Cretaceous rifting of Zealandia from Gondwana; (5) intraplate in Cenozoic age progressive chains that define so‐called hotspot tracks; and (6) intraplate with a scattered, Cenozoic, non‐age progressive, non‐rift‐related distribution. At least 500 volcanic fields, stratovolcanoes and seamounts, active within the last 105 million years, can be identified within the c. 5 million km 2 area of Zealandia continental crust. Volcanic rocks from onland New Zealand are the best‐studied and dated but represent material from less than a fifth of Zealandia's volcanoes and volcanic fields.