The Topography of Mars

Mars has its ups and downs. Visible on the above interactive topographic map of the surface of Mars are giant volcanoes , deep valleys , impact craters , and terrain considered unusual and even mysterious . Particularly notable are the volcanoes of the Tharsis province , visible on the left in (false-color) red and white, which are taller than any mountains on Earth . Just to the left of center is Valles Marineris , a canyon much longer and deeper than Earth's Grand Canyon . On the right in blue is the Hellas Planitia , a basin over 2000 kilometers wide that was likely created by a collision with an asteroid . Mars has many smooth lowlands in the north , and many rough highlands in the south . This map was created by the Mars Orbital Laser Altimeter (MOLA) on board the robot Mars Global Surveyor currently orbiting Mars . MOLA measures heights on Mars by precisely determining the time it takes for a low power laser beam to bounce off the surface. Zoom in by clicking anywhere on the above map .