Olympus Mons
Olympus Mons is a massive shield volcano on Mars, the tallest mountain currently discovered in the Solar System. It stands 21.287 kilometres high, roughly 2.5 times taller than Mount Everest. The volcano is enormous, covering an area of about 300,000 km2, approximately the size of Italy or the Philippines. What makes Olympus Mons particularly significant is that Mars lacks mobile tectonic plates, allowing the volcano to grow to extraordinary proportions over time. Unlike Earth's volcanoes, which move away from their magma sources, Mars's crust stays fixed over a stationary hotspot. It last erupted 25 million years ago, yet recent crater evidence suggests it may still be volcanically active, helping scientists understand planetary geology across different worlds.
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org: “is a large shield volcano on Mars. As measured by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA), it is 21.287 kilometres (69,840 ft) high, about 2.5 times the elevation of Mount Everest above sea level.”
- en.wikipedia.org: “It is Mars's tallest volcano, its tallest planetary mountain, and is approximately tied with Rheasilvia on Vesta as the tallest mountain currently discovered in the Solar System.”
- en.wikipedia.org: “Olympus Mons covers an area of about 300,000 km2 (120,000 sq mi), which is approximately the size of Italy or the Philippines”
- en.wikipedia.org: “The extraordinary size of Olympus Mons is likely because Mars lacks mobile tectonic plates.”
- en.wikipedia.org: “It last erupted 25 million years ago.”