True polar wander on Mars to the atmosphere, as well as carbon dioxide to warm the atmosphere; these effects would provide water for the rivers. Tharsis is found in the Amazonis quadrangle and the Tharsis quadrangle. True polar wander on Mars For some time, scientists have thought that the location of the poles of Mars have shifted due to the great mass of volcanic material in the Tharsis dome which includes Olympus Mons, the highest volcano in the solar system. A study published in Nature supports this idea. For a period early in the history of Mars, the poles were about 20 degrees away from
Olympus Mons unaware of standing on a very high mountain, as the slope of the volcano would extend far beyond the horizon, a mere 3 kilometers away. The typical atmospheric pressure at the top of Olympus Mons is 72 pascals, about 12% of the average Martian surface pressure of 600 pascals. Both are exceedingly low by terrestrial standards; by comparison, the atmospheric pressure at the summit of Mount Everest is 32,000 pascals, or about 32% of Earth's sea level pressure. Even so, high-altitude orographic clouds frequently drift over the Olympus Mons summit, and airborne Martian dust is still present. Although the average