Agulhas Plateau

Agulhas Plateau
The Agulhas Plateau is limited by the Agulhas Passage to the north; by the Agulhas Basin to the west; and by the Transkei Basin to the north-east.
Summit depth	2,500 m (8,200 ft)
Height	2,500 m (8,200 ft)
Summit area	300,000 km2 (120,000 sq mi)
Location
Location	500 km (310 mi) south of Africa
Coordinates	39°S 26°E / 39°S 26°E / -39; 26Coordinates: 39°S 26°E / 39°S 26°E / -39; 26
Country	South Africa/International
Geology
Type	LIP, hotspot volcano
Age of rock	100 to 94 Ma

The Agulhas Plateau is an oceanic plateau located in the south-western Indian Ocean about 500 km (310 mi) south of South Africa. It is a remainder of a large igneous province (LIP), the Southeast African LIP. that formed 140 to 95 million years ago (Ma) at or near the triple junction where Gondwana broke-up into Antarctica, South America, and Africa. The plateau formed 100 to 94 Ma together with Northeast Georgia Rise and Maud Rise (now located near the Falkland Island and Antarctica respectively) when the region passed over the Bouvet hotspot.

The Agulhas Plateau is one of the key structures in the reconstruction of the Gondwana break-up. It was first mapped in 1964 (i.e. part of what would become the Heezen-Tharp map of the world's ocean floor finally published in 1977), but its crustal composition, paleoposition, and geological origin remained enigmatic for decades.

The boundary between the Earth's crust and the mantle (the Moho) rises from 25 to 15 km (15.5 to 9.3 mi) between the Agulhas Bank (south of South Africa) and the Agulhas passage (south of the bank), typical for a continent-ocean transition. The Agulhas Passage consists of 120-160 Ma-old oceanic crust, whereas the 100-80 Ma-old Agulhas Plateau rises 2.5 km (1.6 mi) above the surrounding ocean floor while the Moho dips to between 20–22 km (12–14 mi) below it.