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| | Echus Chasma, nadir view | |
Echus Chasma
14 July 2008
The High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board ESA’s Mars Express has returned images of Echus Chasma, one of the largest water source regions on the Red Planet.
The data was acquired on 25 September 2005. The pictures are centred at about 1° north and 278° east and have a ground resolution of approximately 17 m/pixel.
| | | Echus Chasma context map |
Echus Chasma is an approximately 100 km long and 10 km wide incision in the Lunae Planum high plateau north of Valles Marineris, the ‘Grand Canyon’ of Mars. Echus Chasma is the water source region of Kasei Valles, which extends thousands of kilometres to the north, and its southern-most part.
| | Perspective view of Echus Chasma | |
Echus Chasma is bounded to the west by the Echus Chasma plateau which lies about 4 km above the Echus Chasma floor. On the plateau are deeply incised valleys which connect to the Echus Chasma valley.
| | | Echus Chasma |
The images of the Echus Chasma plateau show valleys that are about 10 km long and 1000 m deep. The main valley, Kasei Valles, is about 4 km in depth. The smaller valleys, also called sapping canyons, originate from the discharge of groundwater.
| | Echus Chasma, annotated nadir view | |
One possible indication for volcanic activity in the past is be a sickle-shaped, about 25-km long dike in the centre of the image (feature 2 in the annotated image). Dikes are rock formations of volcanic origin. They are formed when magma rises up through fissures in the overlying rock or penetrates existing rock layers. The magmatic rock is usually resistant to weathering and is able to endure erosion.
| | | Echus Chasma, perspective view |
Two impact craters with a diameter of approximately 8 km are located south-east of the dike. The eastern crater was partly eroded as the valley formed. A large portion of the crater collapsed into the valley and its debris was removed.
| | Echus Chasma, perspective view | |
The dark material shows a network of light-coloured, shallowly incised valleys. They look similar to drainage networks known on Earth.
For more images, see page two
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| | Mars Express image browser  Related articles Echus Chasma, page twoCrater in martian valley Mamers VallesHebes Chasma, a trough in the Grand Canyon of MarsIcy Promethei PlanumDeep valleys of Candor ChasmaESA presents Mars in 3DTraces of the martian past in the Terby craterNoctis Labyrinthus, labyrinth of the nightHummocky and shallow Maunder craterThe mysterious ridges at the mouth of Tiu VallesImpact Craters in Tyrrhena TerraTectonic signatures at Aeolis MensaeRelated links High Resolution Stereo CameraBehind the lens...Frequently asked questionsFor specialists ESA Planetary Science archive (PSA)NASA Planetary Data SystemHRSC data viewer
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