In April--June 1989, seafloor magnetotelluric data across and along the leading edge of the Tahiti hotspot were obtained. The magnetotelluric response functions were found to be strongly influenced by bathymetric and island effects, and a new procedure for modeling and removing this distortion using a thin sheet approach combined with the measured water depths is introduced. The corrected response functions are consistent with a two-dimensional structure. Inversion of the data shows a slightly higher conductivity (relative to a reference site located away from the hotspot) down to 130 km depth beneath the active area southeast of Tahiti underlain by a more resistive structure. There is a suggestion for a change in conductivity in the 400--450 km depth range, which is consistent with elevated temperatures. This result is consistent with a mantle plume of limited extent (less than 150 km radius) located near the leading edge of the Tahiti hotspot. The magnetotelluric data provide no evidence for lithospheric thinning or for a strong thermal influence over a large area, as would be required by a superswell model. ¿ 1998 American Geophysical Union