Olympus Mons Volcano on Mars

Scroll right to virtually climb the largest volcano in the Solar System. Olympus Mons on Mars measures three times higher than Earth's highest mountain, and has a volume over fifty times greater than Earth's largest volcano. The caldera at the top is over 70 kilometers wide. The low gravity and relatively static surface crust on Mars allows structures as large as Olympus Mons to form. Surrounding the volcano is a cliff that ranges up to 10 kilometers high. This black & white image is one of over 20,000 just-released images taken by the robot spacecraft Mars Global Surveyor that continues to orbit Mars.

Credit: Mars Global Surveyor Project, MSSS, JPL, NASA