Olympus (lat. Olympus Mons) - an extinct volcano on Mars, the tallest mountain in the solar system. Before the spacecraft flight (which showed that the Olympus - the mountain), this place was known to astronomers as Nix Olympica («Snows of Olympus" - due to a higher albedo).
The height of the Mount Olympus reaches 27 miles to its base and 25 km to the average level of the surface of Mars. This is several times higher than the highest mountains on Earth. Olympus extends for 540 km wide and has steep slopes at the edges up to 7 km. The reasons for the formation of these giant cliffs have not yet found a convincing explanation.
