Olympus Mons the height of Mauna Kea as measured from its base on the ocean floor). The total elevation change from the plains of Amazonis Planitia, over to the northwest, to the summit approaches . The summit of the mountain has six nested calderas (collapsed craters) forming an irregular depression × across and up to deep. The volcano's outer edge consists of an escarpment, or cliff, up to tall (although obscured by lava flows in places), a feature unique among the shield volcanoes of Mars. Olympus Mons covers an area of about , which is approximately the size of Italy, and it
Olympus Mons large lava lake. Using geometric relationships of caldera dimensions from laboratory models, scientists have estimated that the magma chamber associated with the largest caldera on Olympus Mons lies at a depth of about below the caldera floor. Crater size-frequency distributions on the caldera floors indicate the calderas range in age from 350 Mya to about 150 Mya. All probably formed within 100 million years of each other. Olympus Mons is asymmetrical structurally as well as topographically. The longer, more shallow northwestern flank displays extensional features, such as large slumps and normal faults. In contrast, the volcano's steeper southeastern side has