Saturday, May 04, 2019

The Craters of Mars


Mars by Kenneth Feld is an interactive 3D map of Mars. The map uses elevation data from NASA to create an impressive 3D map. A map which allows you to explore the craters and valleys of Mars. Turn the heating off and hold your breathe and it is almost like you are really on the red planet.


Olympus Mons

If you open the 'slides' menu (located on the red bottom panel) you can find quick links to a number of important geological features on Mars, such as Olympus Mons, Valles Marineris and the Noctis Labyrinthus. Olympus Mons (pictured above) is a shield volcano which is around two and half times as tall as Everest. Olympus Mons is the second largest mountain in the solar system (discovered so far), after Rheasilvia on Vesta. Valles Marineris (pictured at the top of this post) is a huge series of canyons. The canyons are 2,500 miles long, 120 miles wide and up to 23,000 ft deep.

At the western most tip of Valles Marineris is the Noctis Labyrinthus. The Noctis Labyrinthus is a series of deep, steep valleys. These valleys are believed to have been caused by volcanic activity in the Tharsis region of Mars.


The 'slides' menu also includes a quick link to the Gale Crater, which is where the Mars rover Curiosity landed in 2012. At the center of this crater is the mountain Aeolis Mons. You can get more first person views of Gale and Aeolis Mons by exploring 'Street View' images of the crater captured by Curiosity at 360cities.

You can learn more about many of the other craters and mountains found on Mars by clicking on the labels on Keneth Feld's map of Mars.

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