Located in the Tharsis region of Mars, Ascraeus Mons is the northernmost and tallest of the three shield volcanoes known as the Tharsis Montes, which are aligned along a northeast-southwest oriented topographic high. With a diameter of roughly 480 km and a height of 18 km, Ascraeus Mons is the second highest mountain on Mars, only surpassed by the giant Olympus Mons. The volcano has a very low profile with an average flank slope of only 7°. The image shows a portion of the southern flank of Ascraeus Mons. The height difference from the left side (south) and the right side (north) of the image is about 10 km! The dramatic features shown here are named Ascraeus Chasmata, an enormous collapsed terrain, extending more than 70 km at the lower southern flank of the volcano.