The seamount rises high enough that its summit is at shallow depth, allowing sunlight to reach it and thus permitting the growth of kelp and algae.

[7] Vema Seamount lies in the South Atlantic Ocean, 1,600 kilometres (1,000 mi) from Tristan da Cunha.

[12] The summit plateau mostly consists of hard rock, like the upper slopes,[11] with rocky outcrops separated by sandy plains.

[15] The plateau appears to be a wave-cut platform of Pleistocene age, when sea levels were lower,[3] and is swept by strong ocean currents.

[16] The seamount rises from a depth of 4,600 metres (2,500 fathoms), where it occupies a breadth of 56 kilometres (35 mi)[2] and forms an isolated conical feature.

[14] The cold Benguela Current does not reach the seamount,[5] which is instead influenced by the South Atlantic oceanic gyre.

[38] Its summit is shallow enough that sunlight can reach it, resulting in the growth of various types of algae and seaweeds such as Ecklonia kelp.

[3] Such kelp covers large parts of the seamount,[39] and a coral framework makes up much of the summit platform.

[39][3] Other animals such as bryozoans, echinoderms, gastropods, oysters, pelecypods, serpulids and other worms have also left their traces on Vema.

[3] Rock lobsters propagate from Gough Island and Tristan da Cunha to Vema Seamount,[16] while other species appear to originate from South Africa.

[48] The holothurian Holothuria vemae is named after the seamount, where it was discovered in 1965-1966[49] as is the sea snail Trivia vemacola.