Olympica Fossae

Olympica Fossae
Image of the Olympica Fosae based on THEMIS day-time image
Coordinates25°00′N 114°06′W / 25°N 114.1°W / 25; -114.1
Map of Tharsis quadrangle with major features indicated. Tharsis contains many volcanoes, including Olympus Mons, the tallest known volcano in the Solar System. Notice Ceraunius Tholus, although it looks small, it is about as high as Earth's Mount Everest.

The Olympica Fossae are a set of troughs in the Tharsis quadrangle of Mars at 25° north latitude and 114.1° west longitude. They are about 420 km long and were named after an albedo feature at 17N, 134W.[1] Parts of the fossae have been suggested to be both outflow channels as well as channels for flowing lava, routing both molten rock and catastrophic outburst floods of water at different times in Mars' geological past.[2]

  1. ^ "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". Astrogeology Research Program. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  2. ^ Carr, M.H. (2006), The Surface of Mars. Cambridge Planetary Science Series, Cambridge University Press.