Immense Pacific Volcano Is Among The Largest in the Solar System

A massive underwater volcano the size of New Mexico has been discovered 1,000 miles east of Japan, Nature Geoscience reports. Covering an area of 120,000 square

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Tamu Massif Volcano

IODP/Texas A&M
Tamu Massif Volcano
miles, the volcano is 50 times larger than Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, making it the largest volcano on Earth, according to a team of researchers from the U.S., Japan, and the U.K. The newly discovered volcano, named Tamu Massif, is only 25 percent smaller than the immense volcano on Mars, Olympus Mons, which is large enough to spot with a backyard telescope. Tamu Massif is a shield volcano, with a low, broad shape and gradually sloped flanks. Its name derives from Texas A&M University, where the lead researcher taught for three decades.