User:Skyrius/Hydrothermal Vents
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Hydrothermal vents are underwater hot springs, in a sense. They are formed when cold seawater trickles down through fissures in places such as the subduction zone (where tectonic plates converge or diverge), hotspots, or other seismically active areas and meets up with hot magma. There the water is heated and rises back towards the surface, eventually making its way out from openings in the sea floor. The water that shoots out of these vents can reach temperatures of up to 340°C (700°F), but does not turn to steam due to the immense pressure at the ocean floor. In contrast to most other parts of the deep ocean, hydrothermal vents are hosts to an astonishing variety of lifeforms, many of which are unlike any other ever seen before.