- Sapas Mons
Infobox feature on Venus
name= Sapas Mons
caption=Radar image of Sapas Mons
type= Mountain
latitude=8.5
N_or_S=N
longitude=188.3
E_or_W=E
diameter=217 km
eponym=SapasSapas Mons is a large
volcano located in theAtla Regio region ofVenus .Sapas Mons measures about 400 kilometers (248 miles) across and 1.5 kilometers (0.9 mile) high. Its flanks show numerous overlapping
lava flow s. The dark flows on the lower right of the radar image are thought to be smoother than the brighter ones near the central part of the volcano. Many of the flows appear to have been erupted along the flanks of the volcano rather than from the double summit. This type of flank eruption is common on large volcanoes onEarth , such as theHawaii an volcanoes. The summit area has two flat-topped mesas, whose smooth tops give a relatively dark appearance in the radar image. Also seen near the summit are groups of pits, some as large as one kilometer (0.6 mile) across. These are thought to have formed when underground chambers ofmagma were drained through other subsurface tubes and lead to a collapse at the surface. A 20 kilometer-diameter (12-mile diameter)impact crater northeast of the volcano is partially buried by the lava flows. Little was known about Atla Regio prior to theMagellan probe . The new data, acquired in February 1991, show the region to be composed of at least five large volcanoes such as Sapas Mons, which are commonly linked by complex systems of fractures or rift zones. If comparable to similar features on Earth, Atla Regio probably formed when large volumes of molten rock upwelled from areas within the interior of Venus known as 'hot spot s.'References
[http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/captions/venus/sapasmon.htm NASA]
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