What is a fact about the Olympus Mons?
Olympus Mons is a shield volcano 624 km (374 mi) in diameter (approximately the same size as the state of Arizona), 25 km (16 mi) high, and is rimmed by a 6 km (4 mi) high scarp. A caldera 80 km (50 mi) wide is located at the summit of Olympus Mons. To compare, the largest volcano on Earth is Mauna Loa.
What are two facts about the Olympus Mons?
Olympus Mons is a massive shield volcano on Mars. It stands over 16 mi (25 km) tall and has a diameter of 374 mi (624 km). With these dimensions, Olympus Mons is about as wide as Arizona and roughly thrice as tall as Mount Everest and twice as tall as Mauna Kea.
How did Olympus Mons get its name?
Even though he assumed it was a high altitude feature, he couldn’t be sure. He named it “Nix Olympica”, meaning “Olympic snows”. When it was confirmed to be a mountain by the Mariner 9 mission, scientists renamed it to Olympus Mons. Olympus Mons is a hot spot volcano, much like the ones found in Hawaii.
Who first discovered Olympus Mons?
Giovanni Schiaparelli
Olympus Mons was described by astronomers as far back as the 19th century. The Olympus name comes from the mountain home of the 12 Greek gods. It was Giovanni Schiaparelli who first named it Nix Olympica (snows of Olympus) in 1879 when he observed it as a light colored spot.
What type of volcano is Olympus Mons based on its activity?
shield volcano
Olympus Mons is a shield volcano. Rather than violently spewing molten material, shield volcanoes are created by lava slowly flowing down their sides. As a result, the mountain has a low, squat appearance, with an average slope of only 5 percent.
When did Olympus Mons erupt?
25 million years ago
By some estimates, the most recent large volcanic eruption at Olympus Mons occurred only 25 million years ago.
What rock is Olympus Mons made of?
basaltic lava flows
Olympus Mons is the result of many thousands of highly fluid, basaltic lava flows that poured from volcanic vents over a long period of time (the Hawaiian Islands exemplify similar shield volcanoes on a smaller scale – see Mauna Kea).
Was Mount Olympus a volcano?
Mount Olympus is not a volcano. It is made of sedimentary rock that once lay at the bottom of the sea.
What is the height of Olympus Mons?
The volcano has a height of over 21.9 km (13.6 mi or 72,000 ft) as measured by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA). Olympus Mons is about two and a half times Mount Everest ‘s height above sea level. It is the largest and highest mountain and volcano of the Solar System, and is associated to the Tharsis Montes, a large volcanic region on Mars.
Why is Olympus Mons called Olympus Mons?
‘Olympus Mons’ was originally named ‘Nix Olympia’, or ‘Olympic Snow’ when translated from Latin, until further details were returned from the Mariner 9 probe. Olympus Mons is a similar colouring to the surface of planet Mars, a reddish rusty brown colour.
What type of volcano is Olympus Mons on Mars?
Unlike on Earth, the crust of Mars remains fixed over a stationary hotspot, and a volcano can continue to discharge lava until it reaches an enormous height. Being a shield volcano, Olympus Mons has a very gently sloping profile. The average slope on the volcano’s flanks is only 5%.
What quadrangle is Olympus Mons in?
The western portion of the volcano lies in the Amazonis quadrangle (MC-8) and the central and eastern portions in the adjoining Tharsis quadrangle (MC-9). Two impact craters on Olympus Mons have been assigned provisional names by the International Astronomical Union.
