Photos of Equatorial Ridge of Iapetus.
Cassini close-up of Iapetus showing the equatorial ridge cutting across the limb
(NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute (Cassini))
Quick facts- Follows the equator almost exactly for ~1,300 km
- Peaks reach ~20 km, rivaling Olympus Mons depending on how you measure
- Confined almost entirely to the dark hemisphere (Cassini Regio)
- Origin still unexplained: spin fossil, collapsed ring, or convection
- Makes Iapetus resemble a walnut
Routes (1)
- Standard Route — Class 6 (Iapetus environment; spacecraft & pressure suit required)
The standard ascent of this equatorial ridge gains roughly 65,600 ft of vertical relief. There are no technical cruxes — the entire difficulty is logistics, cold, and a hard vacuum (or near-vacuum).
Recorded ascents: 0 — be the first.
Trip Reports (0)
No trip reports yet. No human or robot has stood on this summit. Be the first to summit and post one!
Map
Equator of the dark leading hemisphere — along the 0° equator (Cassini Regio).
NASA – Iapetus
Conditions — Equatorial Ridge of Iapetus
Airless, about −225°F, and famously two-faced — one hemisphere is coal-black, the other bright ice. The equatorial ridge makes the whole moon look like a walnut.
Summit: 65,600 ft (~20 km at its tallest (ridge ~1,300 km long)).
