If you ever thought Mount Everest was the largest mountain ever, you have been mistaken all this while.
Tucked away far in Mars is the Olympus Mons which beats all mountain ranges on planet earth and even in the solar system. It is a large shield volcano, the largest in the solar system. Found in the Tharsis Montes region near the Martian equator, this massive mountain towers high above the surrounding plains of the planet, making it the tallest mountain ever discovered in the solar system. It is one of a dozen large volcanoes, many of which are about a hundred times taller than its terrestrial counterparts.
The Olympus Mons towers 16 miles, 25 kilometres above the surrounding plans and stretches across 374 miles, 601 kilometres, which is roughly the size of the state of Arizona. Besides, it is 20 times wider than its height. On Earth, Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the tallest volcano rises 6.3 miles (10 km) above the sea floor but the Olympus Mons is about a hundred times that of Mauna Loa and the whole of the Hawaiian island. However, because the mountain is so large, it is difficult to allocate a particular height to it.
The mount is a relatively young volcano and although it has taken billions of years to form, some parts of this mountain may be only a few million years old, which is relatively ‘young’ in the life span of the solar system. Olympus Mons might still be an active volcano that has the potential to erupt. It is a shield volcano, meaning that it oozes huge amounts of lava, rather than simply blowing its top in an eruption.
On the other hand, scientists do wonder why such a huge volcano forms on Mars and not on earth. Scientists think that the lower surface gravity of Mars, integrated with higher eruption rates might have allowed for lava on Mars to pile up higher and higher. Besides, the presence of tectonic plates could also have played an important role in the different kinds of volcanoes. Hot spots of the lava under the crust remain in the same location on both planets. On Earth, the movement of the crust prevents steady accumulation of lava. But in the case of Mars, it has limited plate movement. The hot spot and the crust remain unmoved. When lava flows to the surface, it piles up in a single spot. Thus, instead of a chain of volcanic islands being formed, large ones like the Olympus Mons are formed. In fact, there are three other volcanoes near the Olympus Mons, that are equally gigantic and towering. In addition to the lack of plate movements, the growth of the mount was aided by its extended life span.