Seven Wonders of the Rocky Planets and Their Moons
1 OLYMPUS Mons This image of the surface of Mars shows the largest volcano in the solar system Olympus Mons
The solar system contains some huge mountains most are found on the rocky planets the greatest mountain of them all is olympus mons a volcano on the planet mars a volcano is a mountain created by the eruption of molten rock or lava from within the planet or a moon Olympus mOns is latin for mount olympus mount olympus was the home of the gods in greek mythology Mars Mars is the rocky planet farthest from the Sun The green circle marks the orbit of the first of the gas giants Jupiter 7
Earth's Mountains Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth It sits on the border between Nepal and Tibet to the north of India The peak of Mount Everest is 5 5 miles or 29,029 feet 8 9 kilometers above sea level Humans exploring it often have to carry oxygen with them The air at that height does not have enough oxygen in it for people to breathe easily The biggest mountain on Earth however is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean It is a volcano called Mauna Loa part of the island of Hawaii The whole island is really a big volcanic mountain rising from the ocean floor Mauna Kea is the mountain’s tallest peak Mount Everest reaches the highest point on Earth more than 5 miles 8 km above sea level
This satellite image shows the Big Island of Hawaii It contains both Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa the tallest and biggest mountains on Earth At first glance Mauna Kea may not seem like a very tall mountain It is only about 13,800 feet 4,205 meters above sea level This is 16,000 feet 4,875 m lower than the peak of Mount Everest Most of Mauna Kea is underwater though Measured from its base on the seafloor Mauna Kea is actually more than 32,000 feet 9,750 m high Measured from base to peak Mauna Loa is by far the tallest mountain Another of Hawaii’s mountains Mauna Loa is the largest mountain on Earth Its base is more than 90 miles 145 km across It contains almost 20,000 cubic miles 80,000 cu km of material This is twenty times the size of Mount Everest Mauna Loa is so big and heavy that the mountain has actually bent Earth’s crust beneath it Olympus Mons gianT olyMPus Mons But as big as these mountains are Olympus Mons dwarfs them both It is fifteen times more massive than Mauna Loa Its summit soars an unbelievable 17 miles 27 km above the surrounding plains This is three times higher than Mount Everest Its base is 342 miles 550 km across On Earth Olympus Mons would entirely cover the state of Missouri 9
