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The Tharsis Montes are slightly smaller than Olympus Mons. A wide, annular depression or moat about 2 km (1.2 mi) deep surrounds the base of Olympus Mons and is thought to be due to the volcano's immense weight pressing down on the Martian crust. The depth of this depression is greater on the northwest side of the mountain than on the southeast ...
The layering is believed to have come from the global warming and cooling cycle on Mars; during cooling periods, water migrated to the poles and formed the ice-water layers, while on subsequent warming, the unthawed ice water was covered by layers of dust and dirt from windstorms on the surface, helping to preserve the ice water. [44] [45]
The central part contains Amazonis Planitia and the eastern part includes the western flank of the largest known volcano in the Solar System, Olympus Mons. The Amazonis quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program .
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.
At this location, the highest temperature never reached the freezing point of water (0 °C (32 °F; 273 K)), too cold for pure liquid water to exist on the surface. The atmospheric pressure measured by the Pathfinder on Mars is very low —about 0.6% of Earth's, and it would not permit pure liquid water to exist on the surface. [340]
Tharsis (/ ˈ θ ɑːr s ɪ s /) is a vast volcanic plateau centered near the equator in the western hemisphere of Mars. [note 1] The region is home to the largest volcanoes in the Solar System, including the three enormous shield volcanoes Arsia Mons, Pavonis Mons, and Ascraeus Mons, which are collectively known as the Tharsis Montes.
While a sudden wind gust of 16 m/s would have been required to produce the event, it could not be completely ruled out. [20] The Sol 80 event was later identified as a marsquake. [ 4 ] The earlier Sol 53 event initially received much interest as a possible marsquake, but was correlated with wind and not considered further. [ 2 ]
It has been theorized that a combination of glacial action and explosive boiling may be responsible for gully features in the crater. Some of the low elevation outflow channels extend into Hellas from the volcanic Hadriacus Mons complex to the northeast, two of which Mars Orbiter Camera images show contain gullies: Dao Vallis and Reull Vallis ...