The New England Seamounts is a chain of over twenty underwater extinct volcanic mountains known as seamounts . This chain is located off the coast of Massachusetts in the Atlantic Ocean and extends over 1,000 kilometers (600 mi) from the edge of Georges Bank . Many of the peaks of these mountains rise over 4,000 meters (13,000 ft) from the seabed . The New England Seamounts chain is the longest such chain in the North Atlantic and is home to a diverse range of deep sea fauna. Scientists have visited the chain on various occasions to survey the geologic makeup and biota of the region. The chain is part of the Great Meteor hotspot track and was formed by the movement of the North American Plate over the New England hotspot . The oldest volcanoes that were formed by the same hotspot are northwest of Hudson Bay , Canada . Part of the seamount chain is protected by Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument .
25-824: A variety of different names have been used to refer to this seamount range, including the Kelvin Seamounts , Kelvin Seamount Group , Kelvin Banks , New England Seamount Chain and the Bermuda-New England Seamount Arc (including the Bermuda Pedestal , which contains the archipelago of Bermuda and Argus and Challenger Banks, and Bowditch Seamount , and other seamounts intervening roughly between Bermuda and Nashville Seamount ). The New England hotspot, also referred to as
50-744: A UNESCO World Heritage Site , together with St. George's Town. Castle Harbour is the only breeding ground in the world of the famous rare seabird, the Bermuda petrel or cahow. The north of the harbour was altered considerably during the Second World War, when the US Army built a large airbase, Kindley Field , which is today the Bermuda International Airport . This involved the levelling of Longbird Island, and several smaller islets, and infilling waterways and much of
75-408: A species of cutthroat eel , believed to be found only near Australia, was identified. Corals, echinoderms , and crustaceans make up a large portion of the creatures found on the seamount. These organisms act as indicator species , identifying potential problems in the ecosystem. The New England Seamounts include: Bermuda Pedestal The Bermuda Pedestal is an oval geological feature in
100-602: A temporary measure, two guns had been salvaged from the 1609 wreck of the Sea Venture , one of which was installed on Castle Island ) in 1612. Proper fortifications were soon raised under the instructions of Governor Richard Moore. King's Castle is, today, the oldest surviving English fortification in the New World . It is Bermuda's oldest standing stone building, predating the State House . Its Captain's House , built
125-663: A year after the State House, in 1621, is the oldest stone home in Bermuda. It is also the oldest standing English house in the New World. In 1614, King's Castle famously repulsed Spain's only ever attack on Bermuda. Two shots were fired from its artillery . Although neither struck, the Spanish vessel abandoned the attack (its crew did not realise that the gunners in the fort had only enough ammunition for one more shot). This fort
150-507: Is a large natural harbour in Bermuda . It is located between the northeastern end of the main island and St. David's Island . Originally called Southampton Port , it was renamed as a result of its heavy fortification in the early decades of the Seventeenth century. Castle Harbour is surrounded by St. George's Parish to the north, east, and south, as well as Hamilton Parish to the west. A chain of islands and rocks stretches across
175-601: The Late Oligocene . Volcanic basement is at a depth of 75 m across the platform, and 50 m on the island, except for a highpoint near Castle Harbour , at a depth of 15 m. These volcanics consist of tholeiitic lavas and intrusive lamprophyric sheets. Scientists have long considered the Bermuda Pedestal to be the remains of a large extinct shield volcano that formed between 45 and 35 million years ago. A number of theories have been established to explain
200-486: The Patience , one of two ships built, which carried most of the survivors of the wrecking to Jamestown , Virginia , in 1610. The Patience returned to Bermuda with Admiral Sir George Somers , who died in Bermuda later that year. There are many islands and beach areas in the harbour, and numerous subterranean waterways link its waters with that of Harrington Sound in the southwest, notably Crystal Cave . Several of
225-496: The peninsula of the Main Island at the south-west of the harbour. The settlement was cleared by compulsory purchase order in the 1920s in order to create a luxury enclave where homes could be purchased by wealthy foreigners, and the attendant Mid Ocean Golf Club. In Hamilton Parish , on the western shore of the harbour, lies Walsingham Bay, the site where, in 1609-10, the crew of the wrecked Sea Venture built and launched
250-603: The 5000 m depth contour. The islands of Bermuda are located on the southeastern margin of the Bermuda Pedestal. The oceanic crust surrounding the Bermuda has an age of about 120 Ma , while the initial uplift of the Bermuda Rise occurred in the Middle to Late Eocene . Erosion continued from that time until the Early Oligocene . Volcaniclastic deposition and erosion ended with subsidence below sea level in
275-874: The Bermuda Pedestal combined with knowledge of other mid-ocean volcanoes (immediately north-eastward of the Bermuda Pedestal is the Bowditch Seamount and a scattering of other seamounts, including Nashville Seamount at the eastern end of the New England Seamounts , together forming the Bermuda-New England Seamount Arc) tells us that the Bermuda volcano originally reached 1,000 m (3,300 ft) above sea level and that it took three to ten million years to reduce it to sea level. 32°20′N 64°45′W / 32.333°N 64.750°W / 32.333; -64.750 Castle Harbour, Bermuda Castle Harbour
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#1732797240443300-502: The East. Those channels, however, were shallow, suitable, originally, only for small ships. As a consequence, and despite any major settlement on its shores, Castle Harbour was an important anchorage in the early years of the colony, with its main entrance, Castle Roads being an important route in from the open Atlantic for shipping. It was also a weak point, as it was remote from the defences of St. George's Harbour, and difficult to reach. It
325-591: The Great Meteor hotspot, formed the White Mountains 124 to 100 million years ago when the North American continent was directly over the zone. As the continent drifted to the west, the hotspot gradually moved offshore. On a southeasterly course, the hotspot formed Bear Seamount , the oldest seamount in the chain, about 100 to 103 million years ago. Over
350-513: The Tucker's Town peninsula of the Main Island. In the west, The Causeway crosses from the main island to St. David's Island, and beyond this a stretch of water known as Ferry Reach connects the harbour with St. George's Harbour to the north, where Bermuda's first permanent settlement, St. George's Town , was founded in 1612. An unincorporated settlement, Tucker's Town , was established on
375-464: The chain moved farther away from the New England hotspot, the crust cooled and contracted, and the chain sank into the ocean. All the peaks are now a kilometer or more below the surface. The seamount chain provides a unique habitat for deep sea marine creatures. Coral formations grow on the rocky outcrops, resembling underwater forests that provide shelter for invertebrates and fish. Due to
400-720: The course of millions of years, the hotspot continued to create the other seamounts in the chain, culminating about 83 million years ago with the creation of the Nashville Seamount . As the Atlantic Ocean continued to spread , the hotspot eventually "travelled" further east, forming the Great Meteor Seamount south of the Azores , where it is located today. The New England Seamounts were once at or above sea level . As time passed, however, and
425-484: The east side of Castle Roads, Old Castle , or Charles' Fort , (1615), on Goat Island , Pembroke Fort , on Cooper's Island , and Fort Bruere, on the Main Island. At Ferry Reach , on the north of Castle Harbour (an area now separated by the Causeway ), Burnt Point Fort , or Ferry Point Battery (1688), and Ferry Island Fort (1790s) were built, and, much later, in 1822, a Martello Tower . The island chain across
450-654: The expense and difficulties of studying the deep ocean, little was known of the creatures that inhabited the New England Seamounts. In fact, before recent expeditions, there was only one known coral species in the entire chain. Since 2000, marine biologists, during various exploratory studies, have caught and classified over 203 species of fish and 214 species of invertebrates on the Bear Seamount . This range of diversity suggests that other seamounts may harbour more unknown macro-organisms. During one survey,
475-427: The islands were fortified in the early days of the territory, hence the harbour's name. When official settlement of the archipelago by England began in 1612 (unofficial settlement having begun with the 1609 wrecking of the Sea Venture ) the first permanent town, St. George's (then called New London ) was placed on the north side of St. George's Harbour. St. George's Harbour could be accessed directly by channels from
500-550: The main opening to the Atlantic Ocean , in the east, notably Cooper's Island (which was made a landmass contiguous to St. David's Island and Longbird Island in the 1940s), and Nonsuch Island . The only channel suitable for large vessels to enter the harbour from the open Atlantic is Castle Roads , which was historically guarded by a number of fortifications, on Castle Island , Southampton Island, and Charles Island. Forts were also placed nearby on other small islands, and on
525-702: The northern Atlantic Ocean containing the topographic highs of the Bermuda Platform , the Plantagenet (Argus) Bank , and the Challenger Bank . The pedestal is 50 km (31 mi) long and 25 km (16 mi) wide at the 100 fathom line (-185 m), while the base measures 130 km by 80 km at -4200 m. Surrounding the pedestal is a much larger mid-basin swell known as the Bermuda Rise , measuring 900 km by 600 km at
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#1732797240443550-588: The origin of the Bermuda Pedestal. According to one of these theories, it was formed by the volcanic activity of the Bermuda hotspot . In contrast, Peter R. Vogt and Woo-Yeol Jung propose instead that the Bermuda Pedestal possibly formed as a result of a worldwide reorganization of the Earth's tectonic plates due to the closing of the Tethys Ocean when the Indian subcontinent collided with Eurasia . The size of
575-588: The south of Castle Harbour is often referred to as the Castle Islands . Their fortifications are the oldest surviving English New World fortifications (due primarily to their having been constructed of stone, whereas contemporary English fortifications on the North American continent were built from timber and earth). They were also the first English coastal fortifications in the New World. As a result of their historical significance, they have been made
600-491: Was quickly fortified and garrisoned by a standing militia . Initial fortification by the Virginia Company's (Bermuda was originally settled as an extension of Virginia ) first deliberate settlers in 1612, was around the inlets to St. George's Harbour, but by the end of that year work had commenced on Castle Harbour's defences, starting at Castle Island (previously called Gurnett's Head , and King's Island . As
625-541: Was used as late as the Second World War by Bermuda's military garrison, with soldiers living in tents within its walls, watching over the channels with machine guns. Other forts built at the south of Castle Harbour included Devonshire Redoubt (1620) and the Landward Fort , on Castle Island, Southampton Fort (1620), on Southampton Island (originally known as Moore's Island and Brangman's Island ), at
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