Maxwell Montes

Maxwell Montes is a mountain range about 530 miles long, although commonly referred to as just a single mountain, and contains the highest point on the planet Venus. The mountain ridge is located in Venus' northern hemisphere near the planet's north pole, and reaches a height of 35,904 feet (10,943 m.).

The formation of these mountains is unclear. One theory says they formed volcanically such as a laccolith, while another says they were formed by compression such as the folded mountains on earth.

Maxwell, as well as other high altitude areas of Venus, is thought to contain large quantities of iron pyrite ("fool's gold"). The mountain was named in 1970 after Scottish theoretical physicist and mathematician James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879).
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