Month: June 2026

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Olympus Mons

Olympus Mons is the biggest volcano in the solar system. But that wouldn’t be obvious if you were standing on it. This article explains why.

The tallest volcano in the solar system is so wide that from most places on its slopes, you would never see a dramatic summit rising ahead of you — Olympus Mons is broader than some countries, and its gentle flanks curve away with Mars long before the mountain looks like a mountain at all.
The tallest volcano in the solar system is so wide that from most places on its slopes, you would never see a dramatic summit rising ahead of you — Olympus Mons is broader than some countries, and its gentle flanks curve away with Mars long before the mountain looks like a mountain at all.

Olympus Mons stands about 22 km tall but spans some 600 km, with flanks of only a few degrees. Wider than the Martian horizon, its summit hides below the curve of the planet, so from its slopes it barely reads as a mountain. Why it grew so large, and where the real cliff actually is.
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