These images are maps of the surface of Mars, showing where the volcanos are located.
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Image from: NASA

Does Mars have a surface in Motion?

Unlike Earth, there is no continental drift on Mars today. The Martian surface does not seem to have changed or moved in billions of years. The evidence for this fact can be found in two ways.

  • 1.) The surface of Mars shows cratering at all latitudes and longitudes. Craters are wiped out when the surface of a planet moves. Since cratering stopped soon after the solar system formed, about 4 billion years ago, a surface which still shows evidence of that catering has not changed in a very long time.
2.) Mars has several very large volcanoes. When the surface of a planet moves, volcanos are moved aside as well. They are worn down, and eventually subducted below the surface. New volcanoes arise to take the place of the ones which have been swept away. The Martian volcanoes became as large as they are because there was no continental drift to recycle the surface on which they were built.


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