Olympus Mons

Mars · volcanoes · space

Biggest volcano. Olympus Mons is the tallest volcano on Mars and possibly the biggest in the entire Solar System. It towers 21 kilometers high, which is about 2.5 times taller than Mount Everest.

Massive shield shape. Unlike pointy cone volcanoes on Earth, Olympus Mons is a shield volcano with gently sloping sides that spread across an enormous area. This wide, gentle slope makes it look more like a gentle hill than a steep mountain.

Ancient and dormant. Olympus Mons last erupted 25 million years ago, long before humans even existed. Scientists think it's probably inactive now, but we don't know for sure.

Part of a giant region. Olympus Mons is part of the Tharsis Montes volcanic region on Mars, which contains several huge volcanoes clustered together.

Solar System champion. Olympus Mons is tied with Rheasilvia, a mountain on the asteroid Vesta, as the tallest mountain we've ever discovered in our entire Solar System.