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Olympus Mons is the youngest of the large volcanoes on Mars, having formed during the Martian Hesperian Period with eruptions continuing well into the Amazonian Period. It has been known to astronomers since the late 19th century as the albedo feature Nix Olympica (Latin for "Olympic Snow"), and its mountainous nature was suspected well before ...
Olympus Mons and its associated lava flows and aureole deposits form another distinct subprovince of the Tharsis region. This subregion is about 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) across. It lies off the main topographic bulge, but is related to the volcanic processes that formed Tharsis. [10] Olympus Mons is the youngest of the large Tharsis volcanoes.
However, the largest volcano on the planet, Olympus Mons, is thought to have formed when the plates were not moving. Olympus Mons may have formed just after the plate motion stopped. The mare-like plains on Mars are roughly 3 to 3.5 billion years old. [72] The giant shield volcanoes are younger, formed between 1 and 2 billion years ago.
The solar system's tallest mountain is possibly the Olympus Mons on Mars with an altitude of 21.9 to 26 km. The central peak of Rheasilvia on the asteroid Vesta is also a candidate to be the tallest, with an estimated at up to between 20 and 25 km from peak to base.
Olympus Mons stands 24 km tall and is nearly 600 km in diameter. The adjoining Tharsis Montes consists of Ascraeus , Pavonis , and Arsia . Alba Mons , at the northern end of the Tharsis plateau, is 1500 km in diameter, and stands 6 km above the surrounding plains.
It is marked by the formation of extensive lava plains. The formation of Olympus Mons probably began during this period. [14] Catastrophic releases of water carved out extensive outflow channels around Chryse Planitia and elsewhere. Ephemeral lakes or seas may have formed in the northern lowlands.
Tharsis is a land of great volcanoes. Olympus Mons is the tallest known volcano in the Solar System; it is 100 times larger than any volcano on Earth. Ascraeus Mons and Pavonis Mons are at least 200 miles across and are over six miles above the plateau that they sit on—and, the plateau is three to four miles above the zero altitude of Mars. [4]
Mons (plural montes) is the Latin word for mountain; it is a descriptor term used in astrogeology for mountainous features in the Solar System. The three Tharsis Montes volcanoes are enormous by terrestrial standards, ranging in diameter from 375 km (233 mi) (Pavonis Mons) to 475 km (295 mi) (Arsia Mons). [1]