Loihi Seamount is an active undersea volcano located around 35 km (22 mi) off the southeast coast of the island of Hawaiʻi. It lies on the flank of Mauna Loa, the largest shield volcano on Earth. Lōʻihi Seamount is the newest volcano in the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain, a string of volcanoes that stretches over 5,800 km (3,600 mi) northwest of Lōʻihi and the island of Hawaiʻi. Unlike most active volcanoes in the Pacific ocean that make up the active plate margins on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Lōʻihi and the other volcanoes of the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain are hotspot volcanoes and formed well away from the nearest plate boundary. Lōʻihi began forming around 400,000 years ago and is expected to begin emerging above sea level about 10,000–100,000 years from now. At its summit, Lōʻihi Seamount stands more than 3,000 m (10,000 ft) above the seafloor. A diverse microbial community resides around Lōʻihi's many hydrothermal vents. In the summer of 1996, a swarm of 4,070 earthquakes was recorded at Lōʻihi. This series included more earthquakes than any other swarm in Hawaiian history. The volcano has remained relatively active since the 1996 swarm and is monitored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the United States Geological Survey.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1345:

Inspecting a new prison without being escorted by his bodyguard, Byzantine megas doux Alexios Apokaukos was lynched and killed by the prisoners. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexios_Apokaukos

1770:

The Great Barrier Reef first became known to Europeans when the HM Bark Endeavour, captained by English explorer James Cook, ran aground there, sustaining considerable damage. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Barrier_Reef

1938:

The Battle of Wuhan began, lasting four and half months, the longest and largest battle of the entire Second Sino-Japanese War. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wuhan

1956:

The six-day Gal Oya riots, the first ethnic riots that targeted the minority Sri Lankan Tamils in post-independent Sri Lanka, began, eventually resulting in the deaths of at least 150 people and 100 injuries. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gal_Oya_riots

1963:

Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức burned himself to death in Saigon to protest the persecution of Buddhists by South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem's administration. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%ADch_Qu%E1%BA%A3ng_%C4%90%E1%BB%A9c

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

peremptory (adj): 1. Precluding debate or expostulation; not admitting of question or appeal. 2. Positive in opinion or judgment; decided; dogmatic http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/peremptory

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

There is nothing ugly; I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may, — light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful. --John Constable http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Constable