MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-396, 19 June 2003

Olympus Mons is the largest volcano in the Solar System. While it is considerably taller than Mount Everest, its slopes tend to be 1° to 5° over most of the volcano. With such low slopes, one would not really "climb" to the summit of Olympus Mons, one would instead hike. This very high resolution Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) view of the middle western flank of Olympus Mons shows, however, that it would not be an easy place to hike. The surface is rugged, with many overlapping lava flow structures, all of which are mantled by a thick blanket of dust and wind-scoured sediment. This image is near 19.9°N, 135.5°W, and illuminated from the lower left.