Four of the tallest volcanoes in the solar system
Four of the tallest volcanoes in the solar system
The three large Tharsis volcanoes Arsia Mons, Pavonis Mons and Ascraeus Mons (from left to right) and the tallest volcano in the Solar System, the 22 kilometre tall Olympus Mons, look like gigantic insect bites on the 'skyline' of the Tharsis bulge, a volcanic region on the Martian equator that was active billions of years ago. The tectonic rift valleys of Noctis Labyrinthus can be seen east of the Tharsis volcanoes, whose continuation outside the image forms the Valles Marineris trenches, which are over 4000 kilometres long and ten kilometres deep.