Lo-En

Lo-En
Bathymetry of Lo-En Guyot
Summit depth1,080 metres (3,540 ft)
Height4,561 ± 526 metres (14,964 ± 1,726 ft)
Summit area823 square kilometres (318 sq mi)
Location
Coordinates10°07′N 162°48′E / 10.117°N 162.800°E / 10.117; 162.800
CountryMarshall Islands
Geology
TypeGuyot
Location in the Marshall Islands

Lo-En or Hess is an AlbianCampanian guyot in the Marshall Islands. One among a number of seamounts in the Pacific Ocean, it was probably formed by a hotspot in what is present-day French Polynesia. Lo-En lies southeast of Eniwetok which rises above sea level, and Lo-En is almost connected to it through a ridge.

The seamount is formed by basaltic rocks that probably formed a shield volcano first. It is believed that a number of hotspots such as the Macdonald hotspot, the Rarotonga hotspot and the Rurutu hotspot may have been involved in the formation of Lo-En. After volcanic activity, by the Turonian the seamount was submerged although it is possible that a carbonate platform formed during the Albian. After a hiatus, sedimentation commenced on the seamount in Oligocene time and led to the deposition of manganese crusts and pelagic sediments including limestone, some of which were later modified by phosphate.