• 21 places
  • Checked October 2026

Mars Map Quiz

Find twenty-one places on a flat map of Mars, the largest volcano in the solar system among the first five.

Mars Map Quiz

Name Date

South polar cap (Planum Australe): tap it

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Write the name of each numbered place.Answer key

  1. Olympus Mons
  2. Valles Marineris
  3. Hellas Planitia
  4. North polar cap (Planum Boreum)
  5. South polar cap (Planum Australe)
  6. Arsia Mons
  7. Pavonis Mons
  8. Ascraeus Mons
  9. Alba Mons
  10. Elysium Mons
  11. Utopia Planitia
  12. Chryse Planitia
  13. Acidalia Planitia
  14. Amazonis Planitia
  15. Arcadia Planitia
  16. Isidis Planitia
  17. Argyre Planitia
  18. Syrtis Major Planum
  19. Gale crater
  20. Jezero crater
  21. Viking 1 site

Drawn for this site on 2026-10-03, each feature placed by its latitude and longitude in the IAU Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature on a simple grid of latitude and longitude, with outlines simplified. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a place is answered.

Next step See all twenty-one names on the labeled Mars map

All 21 places on the diagram

Show the list

Start here: the big five 5

  1. Olympus Mons The largest volcano in the solar system. Mons means mountain.
  2. Valles Marineris A vast system of canyons east of the Tharsis volcanoes. Valles means valleys.
  3. Hellas Planitia A huge low plain in the south. Planitia means low plain.
  4. North polar cap (Planum Boreum) The ice cap at the north pole. It lies on the polar plain named Planum Boreum.
  5. South polar cap (Planum Australe) The ice cap at the south pole. It lies on the polar plain named Planum Australe.

Volcanoes 5

  1. Arsia Mons The southernmost of the three Tharsis Montes.
  2. Pavonis Mons The middle one of the three Tharsis Montes.
  3. Ascraeus Mons The northernmost of the three Tharsis Montes.
  4. Alba Mons A vast volcano north of the Tharsis Montes.
  5. Elysium Mons A large volcano far from the others, in the Elysium region.

Plains and basins 8

  1. Utopia Planitia A very wide low plain in the north.
  2. Chryse Planitia The low plain where Viking 1 landed.
  3. Acidalia Planitia A wide low plain north of Chryse Planitia.
  4. Amazonis Planitia A low plain west of Olympus Mons.
  5. Arcadia Planitia A northern low plain that crosses the map's side edges.
  6. Isidis Planitia A round low plain just north of the equator.
  7. Argyre Planitia A round low plain in the far south.
  8. Syrtis Major Planum A plateau just north of the equator. Planum means plateau or high plain.

Craters and landing sites 3

  1. Gale crater The crater where the Curiosity rover landed.
  2. Jezero crater The crater where the Perseverance rover landed. It lies on the western edge of Isidis Planitia.
  3. Viking 1 site Where the Viking 1 lander set down in 1976.

How this list was compiled: Every name and position checked on 2026-10-03 in two sources. (1) International Astronomical Union, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, hosted by the US Geological Survey: the Mars center points file linked from https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/GIS_Downloads (each feature's approved name, its center latitude and longitude, its extent and its diameter) and the descriptor terms at https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/DescriptorTerms (Mons, mountain; Planitia, low plain; Planum, plateau or high plain; Vallis, valley). (2) NASA Science, Mars Facts, https://science.nasa.gov/mars/facts/ (Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system; the canyon system Valles Marineris; polar ice caps). (3) NASA Science, Curiosity, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity/ (Gale crater). (4) NASA Science, Perseverance, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-2020-perseverance/ (Jezero crater, on the western edge of Isidis Planitia, just north of the equator). (5) NASA Science, Viking 1, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/viking-1/ (the landing on July 20, 1976 on the western slopes of Chryse Planitia, at 22.483 degrees north, 47.94 degrees west). (6) Wikipedia: Areography, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Areography; Volcanism on Mars; List of plains on Mars; Planum Boreum; Planum Australe; Gale (crater); Jezero (crater); Viking 1. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-03, each feature placed by its latitude and longitude in the IAU Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature on a simple grid of latitude and longitude, with outlines simplified. Own original drawing; nothing is traced or copied. Licence: own work

How it works

This Mars map quiz runs in three rounds, north at the top: five landmarks, then five more volcanoes, then eight more plains, two craters and a landing site.

Read the full guide

Five plains, left to right

Start at the left edge and work across the top of the map. Arcadia Planitia is cut by the edge, and Amazonis Planitia is the upright oval below it, beside Olympus Mons. Acidalia Planitia sits just left of the top center, with small Chryse Planitia under its left side. Utopia Planitia, the largest patch, is at the upper right.

An oval, a circle and two lone cones

Syrtis Major Planum is the upright oval right of the middle and Isidis Planitia the round patch beside it; the small ring between them is Jezero crater. Besides Olympus Mons and the row of three, two cones are left: Alba Mons, above the row, and Elysium Mons, alone near the right edge with the ring of Gale crater below it.

  • Eight of the nine plains are a Planitia. Syrtis Major is a Planum, a plateau, like the plains under the two polar caps.

Questions and answers

What is the lowest point on Mars?

The floor of the Hellas impact basin. On this map Hellas is the large round patch in the south, asked by its official name, Hellas Planitia. The highest point is the top of Olympus Mons, the largest cone at the left.

Why are the north and south of Mars so different?

Nobody is sure. The northern plains were flattened by lava flows, while the southern highlands are pitted and cratered by ancient impacts and thought to be far older. Hypotheses for the split include one giant impact, several impacts, and processes inside the planet.

What is the dark patch on Mars seen from Earth?

Syrtis Major Planum, the largest dark feature that can be seen on Mars from Earth. Winds sweep the dust off its basaltic surface. Early observers took such patches for seas and called this one the Hourglass Sea.

How do craters on Mars get their names?

By size, under the International Astronomical Union's rules. Large craters are named for scientists, especially ones who studied Mars, and for writers about it; small ones for towns and villages. Gale honors an amateur astronomer from Australia; Jezero is a town in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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