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Highland Patera

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms

Definition

Low-relief volcano displaying broad, low-sloped, heavily radially channeled flanks and complex central calderas on Mars.

Synonyms

Ash shield; Hellas rim structure (obsolete); Highland volcano

Description

Positive-relief, low-lying construct with a prominent central caldera (or caldera complex) and flank slopes of <2° deeply dissected by radial channels and valleys, located on or near highland terrain (Greeley and Crown 1990). Paterae on Mars have low relief (<2 km tall) and easily erodible flank material (Gregg and Farley 2006) with radial erosional channels and valleys (Gulick and Baker 1990). The volcanoes are probably composed of pyroclastic deposits with individual cooling or depositional unit thicknesses of <200 m – although basaltic flows are also possible. Central calderas (or caldera complexes) appear to be floored with lava flows and may contain late-stage domes (Crown and Greeley 1993).

Morphometry

Paterae on Mars are usually 1–2 km high and 200–300 km in diameter...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA

    Tracy K. P. Gregg

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  1. Tracy K. P. Gregg
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Correspondence to Tracy K. P. Gregg .

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Gregg, T.K.P. (2014). Highland Patera. In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_188-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_188-1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9213-9

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