Olympus Mons Flows

Scaled Image

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/ASU

About this image

Like drippings from a candle, these lava flows on the flank of Olympus Mons volcano demonstrate how it became the largest volcano in the solar system. Multiple flows from an unknowable number of eruptions have piled one on top of another until the mountain of lava reached a height of 27 km above the average Martian elevation. The change in texture seen in the bottom 1/3 of the image marks a break in slope from the flank of the volcano to the north (top) and the flat plain surrounding it. The direction of flows changes from roughly N-S to E-W, suggesting another source for the flows on the plain.

Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images. 

Context

Image ID: 
V03375013 (View data in Mars Image Explorer)
12.9214
223.561
3375
2002-09-18 03:50
Thu, 2002-10-17
VIS
1024 pixels (18 km)
3648 pixels (65 km)
0.017948 km/pixel
0.018079 km/pixel

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