Image 8-2
Mineral Chimneys

This image of mineral-rich chimneys of rock was taken by NOAA photographers off the coast of New Zealand in the Pacific Ocean. These iron and silica rich chimneys found on the summit of Giggenbach volcano are evidence of warm springs and hydrothermal vents that were active at this site in the past. Hydrothermal vents are found at sites where hot magma exists just under the sea floor. Seawater seeps down through cracks and fissures where it is heated by the magma. As it rises, it carries dissolved minerals that are deposited as they cool.