Abstract
New 40Ar/ 39Ar and published K Ar ages show that the locus of volcanism along the Easter Volcanic Chain (EVC) has shifted systematically from the Nazca Ridge, at about 26 m.y., to the recently active Sala y Gomez Island/Easter Island region. This indicates a plume rather than a hotline (i.e., mantle roll) origin for the EVC. The time-space distribution of ages, combined with published ages for the Galapagos and Juan Fernandez volcanic chains, is used to reconstruct Nazca plate velocities over the past 26 m.y. A plume now located in the region of Sala y Gomez Island is most compatible with these data. West of the plume, the EVC records neither Nazca nor Pacific plate motions. This section of the EVC may be related to westward channeling of plume material to the Pacific-Nazca spreading boundary region.
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