May 31, 2008

Apollinaris Patera Volcano of Mars


This is a picture of Apollinaris Patera, a shield volcano on Mars's surface. It is situated on the south hemisphere near the equator, southeast of the shield volcano Elysium Mons on the Elysium Planitia, and north of Gusev crater. It was named in 1973 after a mountain spring near Rome in Italy.

Apollinaris Patera is about 5 kilometres high with a base about 296 kilometres in diameter. On the top of this volcano is a small crater with an irregular border, which was probably made by an explosive, or pyroclastic, eruption. The volcano is approximately 3 billion years old or possibly 3.5 bilion years old.
NASA

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