Pavonis Mons bulge near the equator of the planet Mars. The other Tharsis volcanoes are Ascraeus Mons and Arsia Mons. The three Tharsis Montes, together with some smaller volcanoes to the north, form a fairly straight line. It has been proposed that this straight line of volcanoes is the result of the sort of plate motion which on Earth makes chains of "hot spot" volcanoes. Pavonis Mons Pavonis Mons (Latin for "peacock mountain") is a large shield volcano located in the Tharsis region of the planet Mars. It is the middle member of a chain of three volcanic mountains (collectively known as
Tharsis Montes is about across and stands above the ocean floor. The Tharsis Montes volcanoes lie near the equator, along the crest of a vast volcanic plateau called the Tharsis region or Tharsis bulge. The Tharsis region is thousands of kilometers across and averages nearly above the mean elevation of the planet. Olympus Mons, the tallest known mountain in the Solar System, is located about northwest of the Tharsis Montes, at the edge of the Tharsis region. The Tharsis Montes were discovered by the Mariner 9 spacecraft in 1971. They were among the few surface features visible as the spacecraft entered orbit