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Mars: Tharsis province
Topographic map of the Tharsis province of Mars made from high-resolution altimetry data collected by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. Relief is color-coded, with elevation increasing through the spectrum from deep blue through red and then to brown and white; see map key. The view (north at top) includes the Tharsis rise (red area below center), the prominent volcanic peaks on and near the rise (brown and white), and the Valles Marineris canyon system to the east (lateral blue and green furrows). Also highlighted are the outflow channels (blue valleys on green plains) that drain from the west and south into Chryse Planitia (large blue region at the upper right).
Tharsis
region, Mars
Also known as: Tharsis Planitia
Tharsis, extensive volcanic province on Mars that contains three of the planet’s most massive volcanoes. The province is focused on a rise or dome about 8,000 km (5,000 miles) across and 8 km (5 miles) high at the centre. Much of Tharsis is covered with volcanic plains, collectively called Tharsis Planitia, that comprise numerous superposed lava flows. Near the top of the rise, three large volcanoes—Ascraeus Mons, Pavonis Mons, and Arsia Mons—form a northeast-southwest-trending line. Together with Olympus Mons, which lies just off the rise to the northwest, these volcanoes are the largest known in the solar system. Tharsis is ...(100 of 182 words)
