Olympus Mons vents over a long period of time (The Hawaiian Islands exemplify similar shield volcanoes on a smaller scale – see Mauna Kea). Like the basalt volcanoes on Earth, Martian basaltic volcanoes are capable of erupting enormous quantities of ash. Due to the reduced gravity of Mars compared to Earth, there are lesser buoyant forces on the magma rising out of the crust. In addition, the magma chambers are thought to be much larger and deeper than the ones found on Earth. The flanks of Olympus Mons are made up of innumerable lava flows and channels. Many of the flows have
Arsia Mons the three Tharsis Montes volcanoes, it is the only major Tharsis volcano south of the equator. The volcano is in diameter, almost high (more than higher than the surrounding plains), and the summit caldera is 110 km (72 miles) wide. It experiences atmospheric pressure lower than 107 pascals at the summit. Excluding Olympus Mons, it is the largest known volcano in terms of volume. Arsia Mons has 30 times the volume of Mauna Loa in Hawaii, the largest volcano on the Earth. The caldera of Arsia Mons was formed when the mountain collapsed in on itself after its reservoir of