The Canary Islands: Hotspot or mantle plume? 1. La Palma Island

Based on new data on the bulk composition, concentrations of rare and rare earth elements, and He, Sr, and Nd isotopy in La Palma Island basalts, the problem of mantle sources of these rocks is discussed. The bulk chemistry a nalysis showed that the La Palma basalts are enriched in titanium and iron and may be considered as Fe-Ti basalts typical of mantle plumes. The concen trations of rare earth elements also exhibit a trend characteristic of plum e assemblages. However, the isotopic composition of the basalts yield evide nce of a mixed origin including BSE, HIMU, and MORB source types.