Pm. Schenk et al., GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF RA PATERA, IO, IN THE VOYAGER ERA - PRELUDETO ERUPTION, Geophysical research letters, 24(20), 1997, pp. 2467-2470
Voyager era stereo images are used to map the geology and topography o
f Ra Patera (a major active volcanic center and possible site of sulfu
r eruptions on Io). The summit of Ra Patera reaches only similar to 1
km above the surrounding plains. pre-Voyager-era lava flows occur on s
lopes of 0.1-0.3 degrees, comparable to the lunar mare. These flows we
re emplaced at either low viscosities, high eruption rates, or both. A
600-km-long ridged mountain unit (rising to similar to 8 km near Cara
ncho Patera) forms a 60 by 90 km wide plateau similar to 0.5 km high 5
0 km east of Ra Patera. The new lava flows observed by Galileo flowed
around the southern edge of this plateau.