 Marte Vallis based on THEMIS day-time image | |
| Coordinates | 15°00′N 176°30′W / 15°N 176.5°W |
|---|---|
Marte Vallis is a valley in the Amazonis quadrangle of Mars, located at 15 North and 176.5 West. It is 185 km long and was named for the Spanish word for "Mars".[2] It has been identified as an outflow channel, carved in the geological past by catastrophic release of water from aquifers beneath the Martian surface.[3] The surface material is thought to have been created out of 'a'ā and pāhoehoe lava flows from the Elysium volcanic province in the west.[4]
Marte Vallis is the site of the first discovery of columnar jointing on Mars.[1] Columnar jointing often forms when basalt lava cools.[5]
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Streamlined Island in Marte Vallis, as seen by HiRISE. The enlarged image gives a good view of dark slope streaks. Island is just to the west of Pettit Crater. Scale bar is 500 meters long. -
Layers in old crater rim, in Marte Vallis as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program -
Close view of layers from previous image, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program Some dark slope streaks are visible. -
Columinar Jointing in Yellowstone National Park. -
Columnar jointing in the basalt of the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland
