[4] Linear chains of volcanoes in the Pacific have been attributed to deep mantle plumes,[5] but a number of such chains appear to correspond to short lasting volcanism, such as processes triggered by tension in the Pacific Plate.

[2] Download coordinates as: The Tarava Seamounts consist of eighteen separate edifices[4] which extend across six longitudes and four latitudes[2] over a length of 700 kilometres (430 mi),[6] 200 kilometres (120 mi) away from the Society Islands.

[2] Such ages are consistent with an age progressive volcanism caused by a hotspot, whose volcano-building activity was influenced by lithospheric anomalies,[19] considering that there is a discontinuity in the chain which would have formed about 43 million years ago[20] at the time of a major change in the motion of the Pacific Plate.

[19] Alternatively, the formation of the Tuamotu Plateau may have induced tectonic stress that propagated towards the location of the future Tarava Seamounts.

[23] The Tarava Seamounts are considered potential mining sites for polymetallic crusts.