Mackenzie hotspot



The Mackenzie hotspot was a volcanic hotspot that existed about 1.3 billion years ago across Canada from the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. It was centred on what is now Darnley Bay on southwestern Victoria Island.

Extent
The Mackenzie hotspot is responsible for the creation of the Mackenzie Large Igneous Province, which contains the largest dike swarm on Earth. During its formation, eruption of plateau lavas near the Coppermine River, built an extensive volcanic plateau about 1,200 million years ago with an area of about 170000 km2 representing a volume of lavas of at least 500000 km3.

The Mackenzie hotspot also resulted in the opening of the Mesoproterozoic Poseidon Ocean.