| Feature on | Venus | | Feature type | Corona | | Quadrangle | V-61 Mylitta Fluctus | | Venusian coordinates | 68° S, 357° E | | Dimensions | Diameter: 780 km | | Bounding features | Aibarchin Planitia, Boala Corona, Lada Terra, Mylitta Fluctus | | Interior features | There is evidence of an active volcanic feature within the corona, though no official name has yet been assigned. |
A corona is a geological feature created when a volcanic dome forms and then collapses on itself, creating a circular or oval ridge. This resulting ridge formation looks something like a gigantic crown, hence the name (corona is Latin for 'crown'). These coronae are found in various parts of the Solar System (for example on Uranus' moon Miranda) but the planet Venus has more, and larger, coronae than any other body.
Coronae can extend to more than 2,500 kilometres across in extreme cases like the Artemis Corona of Aphrodite Terra. The Quetzalpetlatl Corona is not quite so extensive but it is still immense, stretching some 780 kilometres from side to side. By comparison this makes it larger than, for example, the Sea of Serenity on the Moon.
The Quetzalpetlatl Corona lies in Venus' southern hemisphere, in the central highlands of the Lada Terra region, and the available evidence suggests that it is a relatively recent formation (at least on a geological timescale). It takes its name Quetzalpetlatl from an Aztec fertility goddess, following the convention of naming Venusian features like this for female deities.
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