Pavonis Mons (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "

peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

mountain") is a large

shield volcano A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a warrior's shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more v ...

located in the

Tharsis Tharsis () is a vast volcanic plateau centered near the equator in the western hemisphere of Mars. The region is home to the largest volcanoes in the Solar System, including the three enormous shield volcanoes Arsia Mons, Pavonis Mons, and Asc ...

region of the planet

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

. It is the middle member of a chain of three volcanic mountains (collectively known as the

Tharsis Montes The Tharsis Montes () are three large shield volcanoes in the Tharsis region of the planet Mars. From north to south, the volcanoes are Ascraeus Mons, Pavonis Mons and Arsia Mons. Mons (plural ''montes'') is the Latin word for mountain; it is a ...

) that straddle the Martian equator between longitudes 235°E and 259°E. The volcano was discovered by the

Mariner 9 Mariner 9 (Mariner Mars '71 / Mariner-I) was a robotic spacecraft that contributed greatly to the exploration of Mars and was part of the NASA Mariner program. Mariner 9 was launched toward Mars on May 30, 1971 from LC-36B at Cape Canaveral Air ...

spacecraft in 1971, and was originally called Middle Spot. Its name formally became Pavonis Mons in 1973. The equatorial location of its peak and its height make it the ideal terminus for a

space elevator A space elevator, also referred to as a space bridge, star ladder, and orbital lift, is a proposed type of planet-to-space transportation system, often depicted in science fiction. The main component would be a cable (also called a tether) anc ...

, and it has often been proposed as a space elevator location, especially in science fiction. It is also an ideal location for a Sky Ramp.

General description

Pavonis Mons stands at the southern edge of the

Tharsis quadrangle The Tharsis quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Tharsis quadrangle is also referred to as MC-9 (Mars Chart-9). The name Tharsis refe ...

- approximately 400 km southwest of

Ascraeus Mons Ascraeus Mons is a large shield volcano located in the Tharsis region of the planet Mars. It is the northernmost and tallest of three shield volcanoes collectively known as the Tharsis Montes. Discovery The volcano's location corresponds to the ...

(the northernmost of the Tharsis Montes) and 400 km northeast of

Arsia Mons Arsia Mons is the southernmost of three volcanoes (collectively known as Tharsis Montes) on the Tharsis bulge near the equator of the planet Mars. To its north is Pavonis Mons, and north of that is Ascraeus Mons. The tallest volcano in the Solar ...

(the southernmost member of the chain). The Tharsis Montes volcanoes lie along the crest of a northeast-trending rise (Tharsis bulge) that extends more than 3,000 km across the western equatorial region of Mars.Scott, D.H.; Dohm, J.M.; Zimbleman, J.R. (1998). Geologic Maps of Pavonis Mons, Mars. USGS, I-2561.

Olympus Mons Olympus Mons (; Latin for Mount Olympus) is a large shield volcano on Mars. The volcano has a height of over 21.9 km (13.6 mi or 72,000 ft) as measured by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA). Olympus Mons is about two and a h ...

, the largest volcano in the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...

lies at the edge of the Tharsis bulge, about 1,200 km northwest of Pavonis Mons. Pavonis Mons is the smallest of the Tharsis Montes volcanoes, measuring about 375 km across and standing 14 km above Mars' mean surface level. As a

, Pavonis Mons has an extremely low profile with flank slopes that average only 4°. The summit contains a deep, circular

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

that is 47 km in diameter and almost 5 km deep. A larger, shallower depression lies immediately northeast of the smaller caldera. The large depression is about 90 km in diameter and structurally more complex than the small caldera. Like most of the Tharsis region, Pavonis Mons has a high

albedo Albedo (; ) is the measure of the diffuse reflection of sunlight, solar radiation out of the total solar radiation and measured on a scale from 0, corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation, to 1, corresponding to a body ...

(reflectivity) and low

thermal inertia In thermodynamics, a material's thermal effusivity, thermal inertia or thermal responsivity is a measure of its ability to exchange thermal energy with its surroundings. It is defined as the square root of the product of the material's thermal co ...

, indicating that the volcano and surrounding areas are covered with large amounts of fine dust (see

Martian surface The study of surface characteristics (or surface properties and processes) is a broad category of Mars science that examines the nature of the materials making up the Martian surface. The study evolved from telescopic and remote-sensing techniques ...

). The dust forms a mantle over the surface that obscures or mutes much of the fine-scale topography and geology of the region. Tharsis is probably dusty because of its high elevations. The summit experiences an atmospheric pressure of around 130 Pa (1.3 mbar),Martian Weather Observation
NASA MGS data 0.7 degrees N 245.9 degrees E 13368 meters about 21% of Mars' mean surface pressure. The atmospheric density is too low to mobilize and remove dust once it is deposited.

Geology

The bulk of the volcano's surface consists of lava flows of the early

Amazonian age The geological history of Mars follows the physical evolution of Mars as substantiated by observations, indirect and direct measurements, and various inference techniques. Methods dating back to 17th century techniques developed by Nicholas Steno, ...

. The northern flanks of the volcano are highly faulted with grabens and normal faults concentric to the volcano's summit caldera. To its lower east flank, there is a chain of elliptical, or oval-shaped, pits, lined up down the center of a shallow trough. These features were formed by faulting and associated collapse; the scarp on each side of the trough is a fault line.

Glaciers

Using MGS and

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...

data, combined with developments in the study of glaciers, scientists suggest that glaciers once existed on Pavonis Mons and probably still do to some extent. Evidence for this includes concentric ridges (moraines "dropped" by glaciers), a knobby area (caused by ice sublimating), and a smooth section that flows over other deposits (debris-covered glacial ice). The ice could have been deposited when the tilt of Mars changed the climate, thereby causing more moisture to be present in the atmosphere. Studies suggest the glaciation happened in the Late Amazonian period, the most recent period in Mars chronology. Multiple stages of glaciation probably occurred. The ice present today represents one more resource for possible future colonization of the planet.

Possible evidence of plate tectonics

Pavonis Mons is the middle of three volcanos (collectively known as Tharsis Montes) on the Tharsis 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.

In popular culture

* Pavonis Mons provides the putative setting for the song "Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon (Utopia Planitia)" by

The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals), Derek Brown (keyb ...

, released as part of the album ''

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots ''Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots'' is the tenth studio album by American rock band the Flaming Lips, released on July 16, 2002, by Warner Bros. Records. The album saw the band pursue a more electronic direction than previous efforts, incorporat ...

''. * In

Kim Stanley Robinson Kim Stanley Robinson (born March 23, 1952) is an American writer of science fiction. He has published twenty-two novels and numerous short stories and is best known for his ''Mars'' trilogy. His work has been translated into 24 languages. Many ...

's ''

Mars Trilogy The ''Mars'' trilogy is a series of science fiction novels by Kim Stanley Robinson that chronicles the settlement and terraforming of the planet Mars through the personal and detailed viewpoints of a wide variety of characters spanning almost tw ...

'', Mars's

has its base on the southern rim of Pavonis – the highest place on the equator – and the city of Sheffield is built around it. * Pavonis Mons is also the base of Mars's

in the

GURPS The ''Generic Universal RolePlaying System'', or ''GURPS'', is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting. It was created by Steve Jackson Games and first published in 1986 at a time when most such systems w ...

Transhuman Space ''Transhuman Space'' (THS) is a role-playing game by David Pulver, published by Steve Jackson Games as part of the "Powered by ''GURPS''" (''Generic Universal Role-Playing System'') line. Set in the year 2100, humanity has begun to colonize the ...

roleplaying game setting. The city of New Shanghai, the largest on Mars, is built around the elevator.

Deimos Deimos, a Greek word for ''dread'', may refer to: * Deimos (deity), one of the sons of Ares and Aphrodite in Greek mythology * Deimos (moon), the smaller and outermost of Mars' two natural satellites * Elecnor Deimos, a Spanish aerospace company * ...

is used as the anchor, having been shifted from its current orbit. Pavonis Mons also hosts a space elevator in other GURPS settings, including

GURPS Mars The ''Generic Universal RolePlaying System'', or ''GURPS'', is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting. It was created by Steve Jackson Games and first published in 1986 at a time when most such systems w ...

. * Pavonis Mons hosts a space elevator to Deimos in the ''Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'' franchise. * Pavonis Mons is the name of an Settlement Defense Front destroyer in the game Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare in the mission "Operation Deep Execute", Captain Khosi Siyada was the ship's commander.

Gallery

File:Pavonis Mons PIA05243.jpg, Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) wide angle color composite image File:Pavonis Summit Dust PIA07421.jpg,

Mars Global Surveyor ''Mars Global Surveyor'' (MGS) was an American robotic space probe developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched November 1996. MGS was a global mapping mission that examined the entire planet, from the ionosphere down through the a ...

MOC image showing mantle of dust near summit of Pavonis Mons. The dust makes the image look blurry. File:Channels South Pavonis PIA04712.jpg,

THEMIS In Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Themis (; grc, Θέμις, Themis, justice, law, custom) is one of the twelve Titans, Titan children of Gaia and Uranus (mythology), Uranus, and the second wife of Zeus. She is the godde ...

image of channels and pits on southern flank of Pavonis Mons. Image:Possible Cinder Cone on the Southern Flank of Pavonis Mons.jpg, A

cinder cone A cinder cone (or scoria cone) is a steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic clinkers, volcanic ash, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are formed by explosive eruptions o ...

on southern flank of Pavonis Mons. File:Pavoniscaldeira.jpg, The summit

of Pavonis Mons File:MarsHole-Near-PavonisMons-20200301.jpg,

HiRISE High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is a camera on board the ''Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' which has been orbiting and studying Mars since 2006. The 65 kg (143 lb), US$40 million instrument was built under the direction o ...

image (color) of a 35 m wide

lava tube A lava tube, or pyroduct, is a natural conduit formed by flowing lava from a volcanic vent that moves beneath the hardened surface of a lava flow. If lava in the tube empties, it will leave a cave. Formation A lava tube is a type of lava ca ...

skylight surrounded by a collapse pit on Pavonis Mons File:Pavonis Mons lava tube skylight crop.jpg,

image of a 35 m wide

skylight surrounded by a collapse pit on Pavonis Mons File:Pavonis Mons eastern flank lava tube skylight crop sharp.jpg, HiRISE image of a 180 m wide lava tube skylight on the volcano's southeast flank

References

External links

Geologic Map of Pavonis Mons Volcano, Mars, available as 16.3 Mb PDF file, U.S. Geological Survey 1998
* {{Authority control Mountains on Mars Shield volcanoes Volcanoes of Mars Phoenicis Lacus quadrangle Tharsis quadrangle