Scientists believe mantle plumes can last hundreds of millions of years, and that their heat can create phenomena such as Yellowstone National Park or the string of Hawaiian Islands. (Science Centric)

Above a certain depth, the head of the plume begins to melt and spread out under the crust, until it finds a crack and pours through. The theory of mantle plumes predicts an initial flood of lava lasting tens of millions of years, which means that each hot spot should have an associated flood basalt. (University of California)

The first few million years of a newly arrived mantle plume seem to be the most fertile in terms of magma production and flood basalts are therefore formed in a very short period of geological time. (The Geological Society)