Axial Seamount (also
Coaxial Seamount or
Axial Volcano) is a
seamount and
submarine volcano located on the
Juan de Fuca Ridge, approximately west of
Cannon Beach, Oregon. Standing high, Axial Seamount is the youngest volcano and current eruptive center of the
Cobb-Eickelberg Seamount chain. Located at the center of both a
geological hotspot and a
mid-ocean ridge, the seamount is geologically complex, and its origins are still poorly understood. Axial Seamount is set on a long, low-lying plateau, with two large
rift zones trending to the northeast and southwest of its center. The volcano features an unusual rectangular
caldera, and its flanks are pockmarked by
fissures,
vents,
sheet flows, and
pit craters up to deep; its geology is further complicated by its intersection with several smaller seamounts surrounding it.