Aphrodite Terra
Encyclopedia
Aphrodite Terra is a highland region on Venus
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...

, near the equator. It is about the same size as Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, and much rougher than Ishtar Terra
Ishtar Terra
Ishtar Terra is one of two main highland regions on the planet Venus. It is the smaller of the two "continents", and is located near the north pole. It is named after the Akkadian goddess Ishtar....

.

The surface appears buckled and fractured which suggests large compressive forces. There are also numerous extensive lava flows. Channels cross this terrain and some have an interesting bow shape to them. Aphrodite Terra also has mountain ranges but they are only about half the size of the mountains on Ishtar.

Aphrodite Terra has two main regions: Ovda Regio
Ovda Regio
Ovda Regio is a region on Venus that forms the western part of Aphrodite Terra. Magellan images show a complex surface, with several generations of structures. A pervasive fabric of irregular broad domes and ridges and associated curvilinear valleys was flooded by lava, then fractured...

 in the west and Thetis Regio in the east. Ovda Regio
Ovda Regio
Ovda Regio is a region on Venus that forms the western part of Aphrodite Terra. Magellan images show a complex surface, with several generations of structures. A pervasive fabric of irregular broad domes and ridges and associated curvilinear valleys was flooded by lava, then fractured...

has ridges running in two directions, suggesting that the compressive forces are acting in several directions. There are dark regions that appear to be solidified lava flows. There are series of cracks where lava has welled up through the surface and flooded the surrounding terrain.
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