Tharsis quadrangle

Tharsis quadrangle
Map of Tharsis quadrangle from Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data. The highest elevations are white and the lowest are blue.
Coordinates15°00′N 112°30′W / 15°N 112.5°W / 15; -112.5
Image of the Tharsis Quadrangle (MC-9). The region contains the Olympus Mons, Ascraeus Mons and Pavonis Mons, three of the four largest shield volanoes on Mars. The north-central part contains Ceraunius Fossae.

The Tharsis quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Tharsis quadrangle is also referred to as MC-9 (Mars Chart-9).[1] The name Tharsis refers to a land mentioned in the Bible. It may be at the location of the old town of Tartessus at the mouth of Guadalquivir.[2]

The quadrangle covers the area from 90° to 135° west longitude and 0° to 30° north latitude on Mars and contains most of the Tharsis Rise. The plateau is about as high as Earth's Mount Everest and about as big in area as all of Europe. Tharsis contains a group of large volcanoes. Olympus Mons is the tallest.[3]

Within the quadrangle, the two largest impact craters are Poynting and Paros.

  1. ^ Davies, M.E.; Batson, R.M.; Wu, S.S.C. (1992). "Geodesy and Cartography". In Kieffer, H.H.; Jakosky, B.M.; Snyder, C.W.; Matthews, M.S. (eds.). Mars. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. ISBN 978-0-8165-1257-7.
  2. ^ Blunck, J. 1982. Mars and its Satellites. Exposition Press. Smithtown, N.Y.
  3. ^ Hartmann, W.K. (2003-01-01). A Traveller's Guide to Mars: The Mysterious Landscapes of the Red Planet. New York: Workman. p. [1] [page needed]. ISBN 978-0-7611-2606-5.