Mapping Mars: The Topography and Geology of the Red Planet
Named after the Roman god of war Mars is also called the Red Planet due to its distinctive color. The red surface is caused by red dust that cows almost the entire surface of the planet. At times planet-wide dust storms envelop the world and redistribute the red dust into giant sand dunes.
Mars is home to dizzyingly tall mountains and deep canyons. Olympus Mount the tallest mountain in the Solar system it’s about two and a half times taller than Mount Everest. The surface of Olympus Mons is geologically very young and the volcano may still be active. The Martian canyons called the Vales Marries is approximately the length of the entire continental United States and more than three times as deep as the Grand Canyon. Like Venus and Mercury, Mars has impact craters off over the planet where meteors have fallen through the thin atmosphere to strike the surface.
Billions of years ago the surface of Mars and Earth looked very similar. Although the Martian surface no longer holds any liquid water. Mars probably once had lakes and rivers, as well as a thick atmosphere like Earth. Why did Mars become a cold waterless desert while life flourished on Earth? Knowing more about the history of Mars might also help us understand more about the past and future of Earth.
A topographic map of Mars
