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The Kasei Valles are a giant system of
This huge system is 300 miles wide in some places. In contrast, Earth's Grand Canyon is only 18 miles wide. It is one of the longest continuous
Image:Lunae Palus map.JPG, Map of
Kasei Valles outflow channel system
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Kasei Valles mosaic
(ESA) {{Authority control Mare Acidalium quadrangle Lunae Palus quadrangle Valleys and canyons on Mars
canyon
A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...
s in Mare Acidalium and Lunae Palus quadrangles on Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
, centered at 24.6° north latitude and 65.0° west longitude. They are long and were named for the word for "Mars" in Japanese. This is one of the largest outflow channel
Outflow channels are extremely long, wide swathes of scoured ground on Mars. They extend many hundreds of kilometers in length and are typically greater than one kilometer in width. They are thought to have been carved by huge outburst floods.
...
systems on Mars.
Geography
This huge system is 300 miles wide in some places. In contrast, Earth's Grand Canyon is only 18 miles wide. It is one of the longest continuous outflow channel
Outflow channels are extremely long, wide swathes of scoured ground on Mars. They extend many hundreds of kilometers in length and are typically greater than one kilometer in width. They are thought to have been carved by huge outburst floods.
...
systems on Mars. The Kasei Valles system begins in Echus Chasma
Echus Chasma is a chasma in the Lunae Planum high plateau north of the Valles Marineris canyon system of Mars. It is in the Coprates quadrangle.ESA (2008-07-14). Echus Chasma. Retrieved on 2008-07-15 from http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEM4CATHKHF_ind ...
, near Valles Marineris
Valles Marineris (; Latin for ''Mariner program, Mariner Valleys'', named after the ''Mariner 9'' Mars orbiter of 1971–72 which discovered it) is a system of canyons that runs along the Mars, Martian surface east of the Tharsis region. At more ...
. It runs initially northward, then turns eastward and appears to empty into Chryse Planitia
Chryse Planitia (Greek, "''Golden Plain''") is a smooth circular plain in the northern equatorial region of Mars close to the Tharsis region to the west, centered at . Chryse Planitia lies partially in the Lunae Palus quadrangle, partially in th ...
, not far from where Viking 1
''Viking 1'' was the first of two spacecraft, along with ''Viking 2'', each consisting of an orbiter and a lander, sent to Mars as part of NASA's Viking program. The lander touched down on Mars on July 20, 1976, the first successful Mars land ...
landed. At around 20° north latitude the system splits into two channels, called Kasei Vallis Canyon and North Kasei Channel. These branches recombine at around 63° west longitude, forming a large island between the channels known as Sacra Mensa
Sacra Mensa is a mesa in the Lunae Palus quadrangle of Mars, located between the northern and southern channels of the Kasei Valles. Located roughly 66.5° west longitude and 24.6° north latitude, the mesa is a highland between two deep outflow va ...
. Some parts of the Kasei Valles are 2–3 km deep.
Like other outflow channels, they were likely carved by liquid water, possibly released by volcanic subsurface heating in the Tharsis
Tharsis () is a vast volcanic plateau centered near the equator in the western hemisphere of Mars. The region is home to the largest volcanoes in the Solar System, including the three enormous shield volcanoes Arsia Mons, Pavonis Mons, and Asc ...
region, either as a one-time catastrophic event or multiple flooding events over a long time period. Others have proposed that certain landforms were produced by glacial rather than liquid flow.
Three sets of enormous cataracts (dry falls) are present in the area between an "island" feature in the southern channel, Lunae Mensae, and the crater Sharonov. These cataracts, evidently carved during megaflooding events, have headwalls up to 400 m high and are considerably larger than the largest terrestrial analog, Dry Falls
Dry Falls is a scalloped precipice with four major alcoves, in central Washington scablands. This cataract complex is on the opposite side of the Upper Grand Coulee from the Columbia River, and at the head of the Lower Grand Coulee, northern ...
. They may have migrated over 100 km upstream subsequent to their initial formation.
Gallery
Lunae Palus quadrangle
The Lunae Palus quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The quadrangle is also referred to as MC-10 (Mars Chart-10). Lunae Planum and parts of ...
with labels. The Kasei Valles can be seen at the top of the image.
File:Kasei Valles THEMIS day IR v11.5 0.4.jpg, High resolution THEMIS
In Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Themis (; grc, Θέμις, Themis, justice, law, custom) is one of the twelve Titans, Titan children of Gaia and Uranus (mythology), Uranus, and the second wife of Zeus. She is the godde ...
daytime infrared image mosaic of the Kasei Valles and their surroundings.
Image:Kasei Valles.jpg, THEMIS
In Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Themis (; grc, Θέμις, Themis, justice, law, custom) is one of the twelve Titans, Titan children of Gaia and Uranus (mythology), Uranus, and the second wife of Zeus. She is the godde ...
image illustrating details of channels.
Image:Cliff in Mare Acidalium.JPG, Cliff in the Kasei Valles system, as seen by HiRISE
High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is a camera on board the ''Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' which has been orbiting and studying Mars since 2006. The 65 kg (143 lb), US$40 million instrument was built under the direction o ...
.
Image:Rolling boulders in kasei.JPG, Enlargement of cliff in the Kasei Valles system in previous image showing boulders and their tracks, as seen by HiRISE
High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is a camera on board the ''Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' which has been orbiting and studying Mars since 2006. The 65 kg (143 lb), US$40 million instrument was built under the direction o ...
. The boulders are around 2 m across.
Image:Kasei Valles THEMIS flow features.jpg, View of streamlined landforms in the Kasei Valles (detail from THEMIS mosaic at left).
Image:Kasei Valles cataracts.jpg, View showing putative cataracts in the Kasei Valles southwest of Sharonov (detail from THEMIS mosaic).
References
Further reading
* *External links
Kasei Valles outflow channel system
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European Space Agency
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Kasei Valles mosaic
(ESA) {{Authority control Mare Acidalium quadrangle Lunae Palus quadrangle Valleys and canyons on Mars