Flood Basalt

A flood basalt is the result of a giant volcanic eruption or series of eruptions that covers a large area of land or ocean floor with basalt lava. Many flood basalts are attributed to a mantle plume bringing a hotspot to the surface, and flood basalt provinces such as the Deccan Traps of India are often called traps, from the Swedish word trappa, because of the stairstep like landscape they tend to leave behind.