Maxwell Montes
Radar image of Maxwell Montes
|
|
| Feature type | Mountain range |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 65°12′N 3°18′E / 65.2°N 3.3°ECoordinates: 65°12′N 3°18′E / 65.2°N 3.3°E |
| Diameter | 797 kilometres (495 mi) |
| Eponym | James Clerk Maxwell |
Maxwell Montes /ˈmækswɛl ˈmɒntiːz/ is a mountain massif on the planet Venus, of which a peak (Skadi Mons) is the highest point on the planet's surface.
Located on Ishtar Terra, the more northern of the planet's two major highlands, Maxwell Montes is 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) high. It rises about 6.4 kilometres (4 mi) above and to the east of Lakshmi Planum, and is about 853 kilometres (530 mi) long by 700 kilometres (435 mi) wide. The western slopes are very steep, whereas the eastern slopes descend gradually into Fortuna Tessera. Due to its elevation it is the coolest (about 380 °C or 716 °F) and least pressurised (about 45 bar or 44 atm) location on the surface of Venus.
The origin of the Lakshmi Planum and the mountain belts such as Maxwell Montes is controversial. One theory suggests they formed over a hot plume of material rising from the interior of the planet, while another says the region is being compressed (pushed together) from all sides, resulting in material descending into the interior of the planet. The broad ridges and valleys making up Maxwell Montes and Fortuna Tessera suggest that the topography resulted from compression. The parallel ridges and valleys were cut by later extensional faults. The extreme height of Maxwell Montes in relation to other compressional mountain ranges around Lakshmi Planum suggests that its origin is more complex.
Most of Maxwell Montes has a bright radar return which is common on Venus at high altitudes. This phenomenon is thought to result from the presence of a mineral, possibly a metallic snow. Early suggestions included pyrite and tellurium; more recently, lead sulfide and bismuth sulfide have been proposed.
...
Wikipedia