Olympus Mons

Tallest Mountain on Mars: Located in the Tharsis region of Mars, the Olympus Mons is the tallest mountain on Mars. In fact, it is the second tallest mountain in the entire solar system, behind Mount Everest. The mountain is also the largest volcano on Mars.

Height: 16 miles, (25.7 km), (25749.5 metres), (84479 feet)

 

Olympus Mons

Image source – Google | Image by – martian.fandom

 

Located on the Tharsis plateau, Olympus Mons is a shield volcano with a diameter of about 374 miles and a height of about 16 miles. Olympus Mons is one of twelve large volcanoes that cover the Tharsis region of Mars. This region covers a total of 2,500 miles across the surface of the planet. This makes the volcanoes in this area 100 times larger than any volcano on Earth.

Tallest Martian volcano: Olympus Mons – Tallest Mountain on Mars

Olympus Mons is the tallest Martian volcano, and it is also the largest shield volcano in the solar system. Its height is about three times the height of Mount Everest. This makes the mountain one of the most majestic features in the solar system. It is also located near three other volcanoes: Ascreaus Mons, Pavonis Mons, and Arsia Mons.

Volcano Height: 21945.6 metres, (72,000 ft tall)

 

Tallest Martian volcano - Olympus Mons - Tallest Mountain on Mars

Image source – Google | Image by – NASA/JPL/USGS

 

Olympus Mons is a volcano that has been active for approximately 100 million years. Scientists are not sure how it formed. They believe it grew by a combination of three factors. First, the mountain’s slopes are gentle due to the constant flow of lava. Second, the region’s surface is relatively flat, so the lava flows continue to pile up in a single spot. Third, the gravity on Mars is much weaker than that on Earth, which allows features to grow taller before they collapse.

Olympus Mons has an enormous caldera

Olympus Mons has an enormous caldera. This caldera covers more than half of the mountain’s height, and is 80 kilometers wide. It also contains several circular collapse craters. When the lava ejected from the volcano dried up, the caldera formed. The volcano continued to erupt until it reached its height. This activity created a ridge around the central peak.

 

Olympus Mons has an enormous caldera

Image source – Google | Image by – AILSA HARVEY

 

Olympus Mons is located near three other volcanoes, and is part of the largest volcanic system on Mars. The Tharsis Montes feature volcanoes that are about 100 times larger than any volcano on Earth. Moreover, Ascreaus Mons, Pavonis Monts, Arsia Mons, and the Tharsis Plateau are the four principal domes that contain the volcanoes in this region.

First seen: Olympus Mons – Tallest Mountain on Mars

Olympus Mons was first seen by observers in the nineteenth century. Hence, the name Olympus Mons was derived from the Greek gods’ home mountain, Mount Olympus. Although, the volcano is located near three other volcanoes, which are named the Tharsis Montes. The three other volcanoes are all similarly gigantic.

 

First seen: Olympus Mons - Tallest Mountain on Mars

Image source – Google | Image by – NASA/JPL-Caltech/TAMU

 

There are other volcanoes on Mars, but Olympus Mons is the most notable. Hence, it is one of a dozen big volcanoes located on Mars, and the tallest mountain on the planet. Another candidate for the title of the tallest mountain on the planet is the Elysium Planitia. Hence, The Elysium Planitia is a large volcanic system in the eastern hemisphere of Mars.

Elysium Planitia

The Elysium Planitia features a 530-mile-long mountain range. Although experts think the mountain range is composed of iron pyrite, they are unsure of how it came into being. The formation of mountains on Earth is similar to that of mountains elsewhere, but because there aren’t many moving tectonic plates here, it’s simpler for massive volcanoes to grow than a chain of volcanic islands.

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