In geology, a hotspot is a location on the Earth's surface that has experienced active volcanism for a long period of time.
Many of the world's volcanoes occur along the plate margins (e.g. Pacific Rim of Fire), but some occur wholly in isolated pockets within plates (e.g. Yellowstone National Park in the USA). The latter form from hotspots of upwelling magma that pierce the crust, forming voluminous volcanic outpourings
