The Maja Valles are a large system of ancient

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. ...

s in the

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 o ...

on Mars. Their location is 12.6° north latitude and 58.3° west longitude. The name is a Nepali word for "Mars". The Maja Valles begin at

Juventae Chasma Juventae Chasma is an enormous box canyon (250 km × 100 km) on Mars which opens to the north and forms the outflow channel Maja Valles. Juventae Chasma is located north of Valles Marineris in the Coprates quadrangle and cuts more than ...

. Parts of the system have been partially buried by thin volcanic debris. The channels end at

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 t ...

. Huge

outflow channels 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. ...

were found in many areas by the Viking Orbiters. They showed that floods of water broke through dams, carved deep valleys, eroded grooves into bedrock, and traveled thousands of kilometers. The Maja Valles show evidence of lava flows in the northern section. Studies with HiRISE and CTX images suggest that the lava flows did not reach the turbulence necessary to erode large channels. So, the Maja Valles are believed to be have formed through water erosion.Keske, A., P. Christensen. 2017. MAJA VALLES: A MULTI-SOURCE FLUVIO-VOLCANIC OUTFLOW CHANNEL SYSTEM. Lunar and Planetary Science XLVIII (2017). 2985pdf. Image:Kasei Valles topolabled.JPG, Area around the Northern

Kasei Valles The Kasei Valles are a giant system of canyons in Mare Acidalium and Lunae Palus quadrangles on Mars, 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 ...

, also showing

Bahram Vallis Bahram Vallis is an ancient river valley in the Lunae Palus quadrangle of Mars at 20.7° north latitude and 57.5° west longitude. It is about 302 km long and was named after the word for 'Mars' in Persian. Bahram Vallis is located midway be ...

and the Vedra Valles, Maumee Valles, and Maja Valles. Map location is in

and includes parts of

Lunae Planum 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 ...

and

. Vallesmaumeevedrabox.jpg, Map showing relative positions of several channel systems in Lunae Palus quadrangle, including the Vedra Valles, Maumee Valles, and Maja Valles. Box indicates where these valleys can be found. Colors show elevation. Image:Viking Teardrop Islands.jpg, Tear-drop shaped islands caused by flood waters from the Maja Valles, as seen by Viking Orbiter. Image is located in

Oxia Palus quadrangle The Oxia 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 Oxia Palus quadrangle is also referred to as MC-11 (Mars Chart-11). The quadrangl ...

. Image:Streamlined Islands in Maja Valles.jpg, Streamlined islands seen by Viking showed that large floods occurred on Mars. Image is of a small part of the Maja Valles and is located in

. Image:Chryse Planitia Scour Patterns.jpg, Scour patterns, located in

, were produced by flowing water from the Maja Valles, which lie just to the left of this mosaic. Detail of flow around Dromore Crater is shown on the next image. Image:Detail of Maja Valles Flow.jpg, Great amounts of water were required to carry out the erosion shown in this Viking image of a small part of the Maja Valles. Image is located in

. Image:Maja Valles Streamlined Island.jpg, A streamlined island in the Maja Valles, 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 ...

. The island formed behind the impact crater partially visible at lower right. Image:Lunae Palus map.JPG, Map of

with labels.

See also

References

Further reading