1. Surface Features Overview
N vs. S differences
Tharsis Plateau
Volcanoes
Shield Volcanoes
Patera Volcanoes
Planitia
Valles Marineris
Outflow Channels
Polar Ice Caps
Canals?
Evidence of Past Water 31

2. 32
North vs. South

3. Typical N. hemisphere region33
Typical N. hemisphere region

4. Typical S. hemisphere region34
Typical S. hemisphere region

5. High Elevation Region One ‘continent’: Tharsis, about the size
rst.gsfc.nasa.gov
One ‘continent’: Tharsis, about the size
of Africa. 35

6. Olympus Mons Alba Patera (Volcanoes)
Aligned Shield Volcanoes Valles Marineris 36

7. Volcanoes on Mars 2 types of volcanoes: shields and pateras.
Shield volcanoes are wide and low.
What does this tell you about the consistency or ‘viscosity’ of the lava? 37

8. Mars ‘typical’ volcano.
Mars ‘typical’ volcano.
Earth has shield volcanoes, but also has cone-shaped or “strato-volcanoes”, made from thicker, high-viscosity, lava. 38

9. Runnier basaltic lava, non-explosive eruptions39

10. Mt. Kilauea – large caldera

11. Ascraeus Mons Parvonis Mons Arsia Mons
The main shield volcanoes on Mars are Olympus Mons, and the aligned shield volcanoes:
Ascraeus Mons Parvonis Mons Arsia Mons 41

12. 42

13. Olympus Mons
If one edge were in Lancaster, the opposite edge would be in Chicago!
At 15 miles or 80,000 feet, the crater is above Mars’ thin atmosphere.
You could stand on Mars’ surface and be in space at the same time! 43

14. Olympus Mons 27 kilometers above mean datum. Slope is only 2.5o.
3x higher than Mt. Everest
2.6x taller than Mauna Kea (from sea floor base to caldera)
Slope is only 2.5o.
Surrounded by an escarpment up to 6 km high.
Caldera is 85 km x 60 km. 44

15. 45

16. 46
Olympus Mons

17. How did they get so big?

18. 48

19. than shield volcanos. Apollinaris patera
The other type of volcano is a patera – a huge crater with almost no slope around it. Larger, but lower,
than shield volcanos. Apollinaris patera 49

20. Alba Patera – almost no slope, huge caldera50
Alba Patera – almost no slope, huge caldera

21. 51

22. From high to low – the Planitia
Hellas Planitia
9 km deep
2100 km across
rim is 1.25 km high
impact debris thrown out to a distance of 4000 km
Argyre Planitia
5 km deep
1800
several deep channels flow into it from surrounding terrain 52

23. Hellas 53

24. Light-colored Hellas Planitia54

25. Valles Marineris Huge canyon system 4000 km long up to 600 km wide
up to 10 km deep (6-7 times deeper than our Grand Canyon)
NOT formed by flowing water! (but possibly modified by water)
How was it formed? 55

26. 56

27. 57

28. 58

29. How was it formed?
qnck.imageg.net 59

31. rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect19/FHA-01278sub_bw2b.JPG 61

32. 62

33. 63
Near the eastern end of the Valles Marineris are huge canyons called “outflow channels”.

34. Ravi Vallis 64

35. How did they form?
Here on earth, in Washington State, there are similar rugged canyon-lands called the Scablands. 65

36. The Scablands of Washington State, USA
flood-channel-map-sml.jpg
The Scablands of Washington State, USA 66

37. Catastrophic Flooding
Glacial dam across a river in Washington State.
Lake Missoula.
Pressure of the water broke through the ice, releasing hundreds of cubic miles of water all at once.
Scablands carved in just a few weeks. 67