Tharsis Tholus towers almost 5 miles (8 km) above the surrounding terrain of Mars. Its base stretches 96 x 77 miles (155 x 125 km), and is unusual in its battered condition. The main feature of Tharsis Tholus is the caldera at its centre. It has an almost circular outline, about 20 x 21 miles (32 x 34 km), and is ringed by faults where the caldera floor has subsided by as much as 1.6 miles (2.7 km). The image was created using a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) obtained data taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA's Mars Express spacecraft during four orbits of Mars between October 28 and November 13, 2004. Elevation data from the DTM is color-coded: Purple indicates the lowest lying regions and beige the highest. The scale is in meters.
Martian volcano Tharsis Tholus towers miles almost 5 miles (8 km) above the surrounding terrain. The image was created using a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) obtained from the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA's Mars Express spacecraft. Elevation data from the DTM is color-coded: Purple indicates the lowest lying regions and beige the highest. The scale is in meters. In these images, the relief has been exaggerated by a factor of three.
Martian volcano Tharsis Tholus towers miles almost 5 miles (8 km) above the surrounding terrain. The image was created using a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) obtained from the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA's Mars Express spacecraft. Elevation data from the DTM is color-coded: Purple indicates the lowest lying regions and beige the highest. The scale is in meters. In these images, the relief has been exaggerated by a factor of three.
Martian volcano Tharsis Tholus towers miles almost 5 miles (8 km) above the surrounding terrain. The image was created using a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) obtained from the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA's Mars Express spacecraft. Elevation data from the DTM is color-coded: Purple indicates the lowest lying regions and beige the highest. The scale is in meters. In these images, the relief has been exaggerated by a factor of three.
In this wider contextual image of the region surrounding Tharsis Tholus, the rectangles show the region covered in this Mars Express HRSC image release. The area is situated at approximately 13°N/268°E.
A relief map showing the relative size and location of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano on Mars and in the solar system.
The western scarp of Olympus Mons has both steep and gentle slopes with clear channels, some likely created by flowing liquid, perhaps water, and some apparently carved by glaciers.
This volcanic cone in the Nili Patera caldera on Mars has hydrothermal mineral deposits on the southern flanks and nearby terrains, hinting that it may be the most recent habitable hotspot on Mars. Two of the largest deposits are marked by arrows, and the entire field of light-toned material on the left of the cone is hydrothermal deposits.
This Martian plain, Daedalia Planum, is located south of Arsia Mons, one of the three giant volcanoes that make up the Tharsis Montes. Credits: ESA/ DLR/ FU Berlin (G. Neukum)
The three Tharsis volcanoes (bottom, right) straddle the region dominated by Olympus Mons (top left). Scientists think the volcanoes may not be extinct, but rather dormant and waiting for a hot plume of magma to travel beneath them.
Landforms north of Mars' Olympus Mons volcano may be evidence of recent tectonic activity. Left: uninterpreted image, from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. Right: interpreted image.
Some landforms north and west of the Mars volcano Olympus Mons may be evidence of recent plate tectonic activity.
