In a recent paper, a team of geologists suggests that Olympus—along with the neighboring volcanoes Arsia, Pavonis, and Ascraeus—is just part of a much larger volcanic structure that stretches 4,350 miles (7,000 kilometers) across the red planet.

That would mean the gigantic raised plateau, known as Tharsis Rise, is the new volcanic record holder, the study authors say.

"If we look at it at this bigger scale, one can think of Olympus as a small parasitic cone that is part of Tharsis, just like all the other smaller volcanoes on Tharsis," said study co-author Andrea Borgia, a visiting professor at The Open University in the U.K.

Using mathematical models, Borgia and co-author John Murray found that Tharsis Rise