The New England hotspot, also referred to as the Great Meteor hotspot, formed the White Mountains 124 to 100 million years ago when the North American continent was directly over the zone. As the continent drifted to the west, the hotspot gradually moved offshore. On a southeasterly course, the hotspot formed Bear Seamount, the oldest seamount in the chain, about 100 to 103 million years ago. Over the course of millions of years, the hotspot continued to create the other seamounts in the chain, culminating about 83 million years ago with the creation of the Nashville Seamount. As the Atlantic Ocean continued to spread, the hotspot eventually travelled further east, forming the Great Meteor Seamount south of the Azores, where it is located today. The New England Seamounts were once at or above sea level. As time passed, however, and the chain moved farther away from the New England hotspot, the crust cooled and contracted, and the chain sank into the ocean. All the peaks are now a kilometer or more below the surface.