Alba Patera

MarsGeo-Mount
name=


caption=HiRISE image of part of the rim of the caldera of Alba Patera
location=
latitude=40.1
N_or_S=N
longitude=109.8
E_or_W=W
peak=~6 km
discoverer=
eponym=

Alba Patera is the depression atop Alba Mons, a unique volcanic feature to the north of the Tharsis region of Mars. Alba Mons is an enormous shield volcano roughly 1600 kilometers in diameter but only ~6 kilometers tall at its highest point. It is the largest volcano in the solar system, in terms of area and volume. It has thinner lava flows than other Martian shield volcanos, with both enormous sheet-like layers and hundreds of long, narrow channels on its flanks. Most of the narrow channels are over 100 kilometers long, with some over 300 kilometers, suggesting very fluid lava erupting over long periods of time. Alba Mons is located on a system of faults running northwards from Tharsis.

Alba differs from the other Martian paterae in several ways, lacking furrowed ash deposits and being located in lowlands rather than highlands.

See also

* List of mountains on Mars by height