Guyot facts for kids
Imagine a huge mountain hidden deep under the ocean. A guyot (pronounced GEE-oh) is exactly that: an underwater mountain with a flat top. People also call them tablemounts because their tops look like flat tables. These amazing features are usually found more than 200 meters (about 660 feet) below the ocean's surface. Their flat tops can be super wide, sometimes more than 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) across!
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How Were Guyots Discovered?
For a long time, no one knew about these flat-topped underwater mountains. Their existence was finally confirmed in 1965. A scientist named Harry Hammond Hess was mapping the ocean floor. He used special equipment that sent sound waves down to the seabed and listened for the echoes. This "echo-sounding" helped him create detailed maps.
Naming the Guyots
As Hess mapped the ocean, he noticed something surprising. Some of the undersea mountains he found had perfectly flat tops! These flat-topped mountains reminded him of a building. It was Guyot Hall at Princeton University, where he worked. This building had a very distinct flat roof.
So, Hess decided to name these flat-topped underwater mountains "guyots." Guyot Hall itself was named after an 18th-century geographer named Arnold Henry Guyot. That's how the name "guyot" came to be used in geology!
What Are Guyots Like?
Scientists believe that guyots were once above the surface of the ocean. When they were exposed to air, things like rain, wind, and ocean waves slowly wore down their tops. This process is called erosion. Over a very long time, this erosion made their tops flat.
Guyots in the Pacific Ocean
A great example of guyots can be found in the Pacific Ocean. The Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain is a long line of underwater mountains and islands. It includes the famous Hawaiian islands we know today. But it also includes many former islands that are now deep under the sea. Five of the peaks in this long chain are actually guyots!
See also
In Spanish: Guyot para niños
