Valles Marineris, from U.S. Geological
Survey Mars Digital Image Mosaic, reproduced at a scale of 230
meters/pixel.
Click on image for full size
Image from: Malin Space Science Systems
More about Valles Marineris
This image shows the steep slopes of Valles Marineris at higher resolution.
Very high resolution images returned by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft allow closer examination of this unusual canyon. These images show slopes descending steeply to the north and south
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
Our
online store includes a wide range of Nature's Own
mineral specimens, as well as a
mineral and fossil collection perfect for the classroom.
You might also be interested in:
Next to the Tharsis Ridge is Valles Marineris. Valles Marineris is a large system of canyons that stretches 4000 km (2500 mi) along the equator of Mars. It was first imaged in detail by Mariner 9. As can
...more
On this map of Mars, the lightly cratered Tharsis Ridge is shown, as well as the heavily cratered Martian highlands (near the bottom of the picture), and Valles Marineris to the right. The volcanoes are
...more
On Mars, the water is trapped, frozen, within the ground. Nevertheless, there is evidence for running water on Mars. When the water is melted and released to the surface, it will run from higher ground
...moreThe drawing shows a crossection of the crust, and the unusual altitude variation of the Martian surface. The figure illustrates the depth of frozen ground at various latitudes, called the cryosphere. The
...more
Separate from the Martian outflow channels, or the river valley networks, are large Martian lakes (600 km, or ~1000 miles across) which exhibit evidence of a periodic and catastrophic release of water
...more
This is an image of fog in a Martian canyon. The presence of fog provides evidence of water, and a water cycle on Mars. More fog has been seen in images returned by Mars Global Surveyor of the south polar
...more
The Martian climate is more influenced by the shape of the Martian orbit than the climate of the Earth is influenced by the shape of the Earth's orbit. The orbit of Mars is more oval-shaped than that
...more
