4
$\begingroup$

Although Olympus Mons is the tallest mountain in the solar system, its slope is so gradual that the peak cannot be seen from the plain; it is hidden by the planet's curvature (flank slope = 5.2°). The answer to this question suggest Tharsis Tholus with average flank slope of 10° followed by Ceraunius Tholus with average flank slope 9°. Tharsis Tholus is considered one of the steepest volcanoes, so are there any mountain/volcanoes steeper than Tharsis Tholus?

I searched for a bit and found Boösaule Montes which is the tallest mountain in Io. The mountain has an irregular morphology, with a relatively gentle slope throughout much of the mountain except for an abrupt scarp on the peak's southeastern margin. According to Schenk et al. 2001, this scarp has a height of approximately 15 km and a slope of 40°. But, I am not sure if this is to be considered as "average flank slope" as it is only steeper on one side.

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
9
  • $\begingroup$ I have collected 103 data to conclude the answer, I will let you know soon $\endgroup$
    – Kavin Ishwaran
    Dec 22, 2021 at 11:06
  • $\begingroup$ How exactly do you define steepness? Where is the base of a mountain or the upper rim and start of base of a canyon? Do you consider maximum values? Average (if so what is averaged and how (median, mean,...)? $\endgroup$
    – planetmaker
    Dec 22, 2021 at 14:43
  • $\begingroup$ @planetmaker its as simple as tangent in trig, (not going deep into it) $\endgroup$
    – Kavin Ishwaran
    Dec 22, 2021 at 14:48
  • $\begingroup$ @Ishwaran Let me rephrase: Consider a mountain the shape of a perfect half-sphere. How steep is it? 90°? 45°? $<dy/dx> = \frac{2}{\pi} \int_0^\{pi/2} cos(x) dx$? Something else? $\endgroup$
    – planetmaker
    Dec 22, 2021 at 14:58
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @uhoh there are two ranges with high peaks, one is tenzing montes range and other one is hillary montes range, I will explain those in the question since it needs some work $\endgroup$
    – Kavin Ishwaran
    Dec 23, 2021 at 4:06

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1
$\begingroup$

You can find lot of steep mountains in our solar system, but Mountains which are outside of our Earth ain't steep enough to include in this list. If we are talking about steepest mountains (In terms of average and excluding overhanging cliffs) Trango Towers, The limestone Cliffs are some of the steepest mountains in our solar system. However quoting "Tharsis Tholus is considered one of the steepest volcanoes, so are there any mountain/volcanoes", Tharsis Tholus' steepness is a tiny number when compared to the steepness of the Mt. Hakone, Japan. Also "Boösaule Montes which is the tallest mountain in Io" is also considerable steep but within Io ;) (It cannot give competition to mountains in the Karakoram Range). We cannot come to a conclusion since it will take ages to categorize and rank mountain's steepness unless we exclude the Himalayan range :)

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ potentially helpful in Space SE: Just how steep are Pluto's tallest ice mountains? The combination of low surface gravity and a strong material like water ice at very low temperature makes these a good candidate, and the images are really impressively steep for 3,500 tall mountains! $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Dec 23, 2021 at 4:01

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .