From space,
it would look like Earth had a giant pimple.
Smack dab in the middle of Brazil.
Back on the ground,
you’d be astonished by the enormity
of Olympus Mons,
the tallest mountain in our Solar System.
Which also happens to be
a massive volcano.
If this Martian colossus
was located in South America,
No other mountain in our Solar System
rises above the 25 km (15.5 mi) height
of Olympus Mons.
To put that into perspective,
Olympus is over two and a half times
taller than Mount Everest.
And this flat-top giant isn't only tall.
It's also really wide.
On Earth, the base of Olympus Mons
would cover Ecuador entirely.
But here's a twist.
For a volcano this large
to form on our planet,
Earth would need some big changes
under its crust.
Deep in our planet’s mantle,
there are areas that are unusually hot.
These are known as hotspots.
From these hotspots,
large amounts of magma rise,
breaking through the Earth's crust.
And that’s how volcanoes are formed.
But because Earth’s crust is made up of
moving tectonic plates,
a volcano will eventually move away
from the hotspots that formed it
and, as such, stop growing.
That's why a volcano
as large as Olympus Mons
could never be formed
on the Earth we know today.
The reason why Mars is able to house
more massive volcanoes is that,
unlike our planet,
it doesn't have these moving tectonic plates.
This means that on Mars,
volcanoes remain on top of their hotspot
and continue growing.
Now, take away the Earth's tectonic plates,
and we could grow
our own Olympus Mons.
And on the bright side, no tectonic plates
would mean no earthquakes, ever.
And we'd likely still live
on the first supercontinent, Rodinia.
That's because the plates wouldn't move
and break the land
into separate continents like we have now.
Now on the not-so-bright side,
this supervolcano
could cause some damage.
How long would we have
before it rained fire and ash
all over humanity?
Well, not all volcanoes are the same.
And we might have a chance
to survive Olympus Mons erupting.
So you shouldn't judge a book by its cover,
or a mountain by its size.
Olympus Mons is a shield volcano.
That means it doesn't
chaotically spew melted rock out,
causing planetary destruction
in the process.
When volcanoes like Olympus Mons erupt,
it usually isn't a violent explosion.
Instead, they tend to produce
a steady and long-lasting flow of lava.
And that's good news.
Lava flows are easy to spot,
predict and avoid.
So there wouldn't be
a catastrophic apocalypse
when Olympus Mons went off.
It might not even have a major impact
when it comes to climate change.
That's because shield volcanoes
don't release much gas or debris.
Lucky you.
And just to sweeten the deal,
Olympus Mons wouldn’t erupt today.
The last time would've been
between 20 and 200 million years ago.
The dinosaurs wouldn't have fared so well, though.
Many would have died
due to constant volcanic eruptions.
But wait, there’s more.
Living around Olympus Mons
could bring you lots of cash.
That's because the ground
around this grand volcano's base
would be rich with minerals
from its basaltic magma,
including magnesium.
This would seriously improve the quality
of agricultural soil.
Time to get into the agricultural business.
And that's not all.
Even if the volcano is active,
it creates geothermal energy.
Just like some cities in the U.S.
currently generate electricity
from smaller volcanoes.
And you can bet
it would be a year-round tourist attraction.
But now, hold off on your victory lap.
An Earthly Olympus Mons
would bring some problems with it.
Man-made problems, to be precise.
Volcanoes produce natural resources
like diamonds, gold and nickel.
So naturally, South American countries
that share portions of Olympus Mons
would see a steep increase in wealth.
And like history has shown,
violent and destructive conflicts
over these resources would be inevitable.
Just like diamonds
fueled civil wars in Africa,
which lasted over a decade
and left thousands dead.
South America’s long history
of social and political unrest
would be aggravated
by Olympus Mons' treasures.
Around it,
blood could flow
much more commonly than lava.
So keep Olympus Mons where it belongs,
on Mars.
If anything,
you need to watch out for
the supervolcano at Yellowstone Park.
That baby sure is active
and its eruption would even
make breathing a hazard.
But that’s a story for another WHAT IF.