Lethe Vallis is a valley in the
Elysium Planitia on Mars, located at 4° North and 206.5° West. It is 225 km long and is named after
river Lethe
River Lethe is located 18 km (12 mi) west of Mount Katmai, Alaska Peninsula, and is the middle branch of the Ukak River. It flows through the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and meets the Ukak at .
The river was named in 1917 by R. F. ...
in
Katmai National Monument,
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...
, USA.
Lethe Vallis originates at the SE margin of the West Elysium Basin (
Cerberus Palus). West Elysium Basin probably contained a lake that was 500 km across and received water from
Athabasca Vallis. It was probably formed in just days or weeks and had a discharge about like the Mississippi. Some have suggested it was formed from lava flows, but lava would not be able to flow over such a low gradient for so long a distance.
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References
Valleys and canyons on Mars
Elysium quadrangle
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