Hess Tablemount

The Hess Tablemount is a flat-topped submarine volcano, scientifically known as a guyot, located on the floor of the Pacific Ocean. Its flattened peak indicates that it was once an active volcanic island that was eroded by ocean waves before sinking beneath the surface.

The geological feature is named after the American geologist Harry Hammond Hess. Hess was the pioneering scientist who first defined and classified these unique flat-topped underwater mountains in 1946.

The flat summit was originally created by wave erosion when the volcano's peak was at or above sea level. As the oceanic tectonic plate slowly moved away from the mid-ocean ridge, the crust cooled, became denser, and gradually subsided, taking the eroded island underwater.

Because it is a submarine volcano resting deep on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, humans cannot physically visit or scuba dive to the Hess Tablemount. It is strictly studied by marine geologists using advanced sonar mapping and deep-sea submersible drones.