Valles MarinesThe larger canyon of the solar systemis among the most surprising and studied structures of Mars. The canyon, with his own 4,000 km in length, 200 km width and almost 10 km The planet almost parallel to the Martian equator is deep in depth. This immense depression from the still uncertain origin is 9 times longer, 7 times wider and over 5 times deeper than Grand Canyon Terrestre. However, experts agree that its development is strongly linked tomagmatic activity which gave rise to some of the most impressive volcanoes on the red planet, located in the neighbor Tharsis region.
The Gran Canyon of Mars: Valles Marineris
With his almost 4,000 km long, 200 km in width and almost 10 km deepValles Marineris is not only the largest visible depression on the surface of Mars, but has also earned the title of larger canyon of the entire sun system. With its extension, it could cover the distance between the southernmost tip of Sicily and the northernmost tip of Norway. For comparison, the terrestrial Grand Canyon, located in Arizona (United States of America), measures only 446 km in length, 29 km in width and just over 1.850 meters in depth. Valles Marineris was discovered in 1972 from the space probe Mariner 9from which it takes its name. This mega-canyon presents a rather morphology jaggedcharacterized by various parallel and interconnected depressions.
Two of the depressions (also called chasmat) more studied are Lusa Chasma And Tithonium Chasmaboth located in the eastern portion of Valles Marineris. Ius Chasma is located in the north and extends beyond 840 km. Tithonium Chasma, located in the south, has a length of 805 km and a depth that reaches the 7 km. These structures were among the main objectives of the probe Mars Expresswhich since 2004 has been flying the red planet, giving us spectacular three -dimensional images of its superficial characteristics. The level of detail of the photos is extraordinary. For example, on top of Tithonium Chasma, the probe even immortalized dark sediments that could represent sand volcanic transported by the Marzian winds from the west. In addition, erosive structures and morphologies have been observed that could preserve traces of ancient floods.
The origin of Valles Marineris, the largest canyon of the Solar System
The origin of Valles Marineris has not yet been completely clarified. However, scientists are sure that the Martian canyon has not been formed for slow river erosion, as happened for the terrestrial Grand Canyon. Over the years, several processes have been proposed to explain the formation of Valles Marineris, including: the riftingthe activation of fault extensiveThe collapse superficial due to withdraw of magma and the rotation of lithospheric plates. As often happens in nature, the canyon is likely to be the result of the combination of two or more processes geological, who acted simultaneously or in succession.
The most accredited model associates the development of Valles Marineris with Intense magmatic activity of the neighboring Tharsis region, Located to the west. This area houses some of the most impressive shield volcanoes of Mars and the entire Solar System, including Arsia Mons, Pavonis Mons And Ascraeus Mons. About 3.5 billion years agothe ascent of huge volumes of magma would have caused the swelling and the lifting of the surface in the Tharsis region, triggering a elongation from the lithosphere surrounding, that would progressively tie And collapsed along areas of fault, giving rise to the depressions of Valles Marineris. Evidence of a strong extensional tectonics were found inside the canyon. Subsequently, the withdrawal of the magma would have favored further conditions of instabilityintensifying the subsidia and causing the collapse of the walls of the canyon.
In the following millions of years, landslide They would continue to model the landscape, especially in the northern depressions, where the material recently collapsed along the steep walls. Finally, it is possible that courses water They crossed the canyon after his training, contributing to his remodeling and in -depth study. Experts speculate that the development of Valles Marineris is finished about 2 billion years ago. However, only further studies and exploration missions will be able to confirm or deny these models.
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