Explanation:
What created this great cliff on Mars?
Did giant waterfalls
once plummet through its grooves?
With a four-kilometer drop, this high cliff surrounding
Echus Chasma, near an impressive impact crater, was carved by either water or
lava.
A leading hypothesis
is that Echus Chasma, at 100-kilometers long and 10-kilometers wide,
was once one of the largest water sources on
Mars.
If true, water once held in
Echus Chasma
likely ran over the Martian surface to carve the impressive
Kasei Valles,
which extends over 3,000 kilometers to the north.
Even if initially carved by water, lava appears to have later flowed in the valley, leaving an
extraordinarily smooth floor.
Echus Chasma lies north of tremendous
Valles Marineris, the largest canyon in the
Solar System.
The above image was taken by the robotic
Mars Express spacecraft currently orbiting Mars.
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