Roca Redonda Island formation due to development of an extensional transform zone, northern Galápagos Archipelago

Abstract

The Galápagos hotspot is located only 250 km south of an east-trending mid-ocean ridge spreading center and transform fault. One theory holds that the northern islands of the Galápagos were not formed by hotspot volcanism. This study tested the hypothesis that Roca Redonda Island was created by this extensional zone process because of its similarities to nearby Wolf and Darwin Islands that were formed along an ETZ.