What Is the Largest Underwater Volcano in the Ocean?

Invisible giants lie beneath the surface of the oceans. No one can see the massive underwater volcanoes in the waters of Indonesia, in the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Caribbean or in the Pacific Ocean near Japan, New Zealand or Samoa unless he descends in a submersible.

Discovery

In the 1970s, Rockne Hart Johnson studied the area east of the Samoan island of Ta'u and discovered a seamount in the area. Although his discovery was forgotten, a team of scientists including Stan Hart and Hubert Staudigal rediscovered the seamount in 1999. It proved to be an underwater volcano and eventually received the name "Vailulu'u," according to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Dimensions

Vailulu'u is the largest volcano located completely underwater. It measures 21 miles in diameter at its base on the ocean floor. From this base, it rises to a height of approximately 14,000 feet, according to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Developments

From the floor of Vailulu'u's deep crater, a new volcanic cone is gradually rising. It is called Nafanua, originally the name of a Samoan war goddess. If this cone keeps rising, it will add to the bulk and the height of Vailulu'u, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

References

• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: Volcanic Activity Discovered at Samoan "Hot Spot"
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Eel City and Moat of Death
• Scripps Institution of Oceanography: Researchers Discover Underwater Volcano
• Fathom: Voyage to Vailulu'u -- Searching for Underwater Volcanoes
• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: Voyage to Vailulu'u

Resources

• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: