DESCRIPTION AND
DATA SHEET

Olympus Mons
Tharsis Montes, Mars

This Viking 3-D view features Olympus Mons, which is the largest of the more than 12 large volcanos in the Tharsis Montes volcanic province. Measuring 600 kilometers across and 21 kilometers high, Olympus Mons is also probably the largest volcano in the solar system. In contrast, the largest volcano on Earth, Mauna Loa, is 120 kilometers across and 9 kilometers high.

Olympus Mons is a classic broad shield volcano, with slopes averaging 4° and ranging up to 10°. The large complex summit caldera (shown in a close-up image) is 65 by 85 kilometers wide. The general characteristics of Olympus Mons resemble those of the great Hawai'ian volcanos and suggest that its lavas may be basaltic or basaltic andesite in composition. Volcanism in the Tharsis region has occurred throughout much of the history of Mars. The initial time of formation of Olympus Mons is not known. Some of the lava flows on Olympus Mons probably formed in the last 200 million years and are among the youngest features on Mars.

A nearly continuous scarp 2 to 10 kilometers high (shown in a close-up image) formed at the base of Olympus Mons. Beyond the scarp and surrounding the volcano on nearly all sides lie a series of quasicircular ridged deposits called aureoles (shown in a close-up image). The scarp and the aureole may be related.

DATA SHEET (Top)

Location:
     18.0 N, 133.0 W
Quadrangle:
     MC-9 (Tharsis)
Mission:
     Viking 1
Image Numbers:
     646A28, 646A71
Image Resolution
(Full-Sized View):
     720 meters/pixel
Image Width:
     1020 kilometers
Vertical Exaggeration:
     2.4 × Normal
Vertical Resolution:
     310 meters
Spacecraft Altitude:
     28,800 kilometers
Convergence Angle:
     27.1°