This article is about the volcano on Mars. For other uses, see Olympus (disambiguation).
| Olympus Mons | |
|---|---|
 Wide view of the Olympus Mons aureole,escarpment and caldera | |
| Coordinates | 18.4°N 226°ECoordinates: 18.4°N 226°E |
| Peak | 21 km above datum |
| Discoverer | Mariner 9 |
| Eponym | Latin - Mount Olympus |
Olympus Mons (Latin for Mount Olympus) is a volcanic mountain on the planet Mars. It is a little under three times as tall as Mount Everest and is the tallest known volcano in the Solar System. Olympus Mons is the youngest of the large volcanoes on Mars, having formed during Mars' Amazonian Period. Olympus Mons had been known to astronomers since the late 19th century as the albedo feature Nix Olympica (Latin for "Snows of Olympus"). Its mountainous nature was suspected well before space probes confirmed its identity as a mountain.
The volcano is located in Mars' western hemisphere at approximately 18.4°N 226°E, just off the northwestern edge of the Tharsis bulge. The western portion of the volcano lies in theAmazonis quadrangle (MC-8) and the central and eastern portions in the adjoining Tharsis quadrangle (MC-9). Two impact craters on Olympus Mons have been assigned provisional names by the IAU. They are the 15.6 km (10 mi)-diameter Karzok crater (18°25′N 131°55′W) and the 10.4 km (6 mi)-diameter Pangboche crater (17°10′N 133°35′W).
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