Surface Highlands 

Another aspect of Venus' surface is the large highland areas that stretch across the vast mountainous plains of the planet. Geologically, the surface of Venus resurfaced around 300 to 500 million years ago and is a point of debate among scientists on how that came to be.

Broad depressions abound across the surface including the Atlanta Planitia, Guinevere Planitia and the Lavinia Planitia. The two largest highland areas on Venus is the Ishtar Terra located in the northern hemisphere and about the size of Australia and the Aphrodite Terra located along the equator (which is about the size of South America). Most of the area of Ishtar Terra is composed of the high plateau known as the Lakshimi Planum. Huge mountains such as the Maxwell Montes surround this region, the highest point on Venus. The Aphrodite Terra highlands is so large that it reaches almost half way around the equator (about the size of Africa).

Also present on Venus are large shield volcanoes much like the Olympus Mons. One example is the Sif Mons. Recent data collected from the Magellan indicates that certain areas on the surface of Venus are still volcanically active. However, most of the geology of Venus has and will remain quiet for millions of years. Also found by the Magellan is that certain areas of the highland regions are uncommonly bright, probably due to the existence of iron pyrite (fool's gold).