This Flash animation depicts the generation and evolution of hot-spot volcanoes. It shows a mantle plume rise beneath an oceanic plate and form a hot-spot at the base of the lithosphere. As the lithosphere melts, magma rises and erupts at the surface to form a volcano. A chain of volcanoes forms as the plate moves over the hot-spot. This is part of a series of animations developed to help students visualize dynamic earth processes. The series is a component of a website that supports the textbook, Essentials of Geology: An Introduction to Planet Earth.