Is There an Underground Volcano Near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina?

There are no underground volcanoes in Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The New England seaboard is free of igneous volcanic activity. However, there may be mud volcanoes in the Cape Hatteras area.

Types of Volcanoes

The igneous volcano--what most people think of when they hear the word "volcano"--is a vent in the earth's crust from which magma, ash, and gases explode. The "mud volcano" is different: methane gas forms a slurry of water and mud, and its eruption is generally much less violent and at a much lower temperature than that of an igneous volcano.

Geography

The majority of North American igneous volcanoes are located along the Pacific coast, in the Pacific Ring of Fire. The Ring of Fire traces the western edge of the North American tectonic plate. North Carolina is located well away from the edge of this plate, and has no igneous volcanoes.

Speculation

Mud volcanoes can develop wherever there there is sediment containing gas hydrates, especially methane. As the eastern coast of North America has many areas of such sediment, it is possible that mud volcanoes may appear in the vicinity of Cape Hatteras.

References

• Smithsonian Institution: Global Volcanism Program
• U.S. Geological Survey: Dynamic Slabs
• Geological Society of Trinidad and Tobago: Mud Volcanoes
• U.S. Geological Survey: Mud Volcanoes
• Worldwide distribution of confirmed or inferred offshore gas hydrate-bearing sediments.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish