The dichotomy of Martian topography is striking: northern plains flattened by lava flows contrast with the southern highlands, pitted and cratered by ancient impacts. Research in 2008 has presented evidence regarding a theory proposed in 1980 postulating that, four billion years ago, the northern hemisphere of Mars was struck by an object one-tenth to two-thirds the size of the Moon. If validated, this would make the northern hemisphere of Mars the site of an impact crater 10,600 km long by 8,500 km wide, or roughly the area of Europe, Asia, and Australia combined, surpassing the South Pole–Aitken basin as the largest impact crater in the Solar System.[15][16]
Mars is scarred by a number of impact craters: a total of 43,000 craters with a diameter of 5 km or greater have been found.[108] The largest confirmed of these is the Hellas impact basin, a light albedo feature clearly visible from Earth.[109] Due to the smaller mass of Mars, the probability of an object colliding with the planet is about half that of the Earth. Mars is located closer to the asteroid belt, so it has an increased chance of being struck by materials from that source. Mars is also more likely to be struck by short-period comets, i.e. those that lie within the orbit of Jupiter.[110] In spite of this, there are far fewer craters on Mars compared with the Moon, because the atmosphere of Mars provides protection against small meteors. Some craters have a morphology that suggests the ground became wet after the meteor impacted.[111]
Volcanoes
Top down view of Olympus Mons
Main article: Volcanism on Mars
The shield volcano, Olympus Mons (Mount Olympus) is an extinct volcano in the vast upland region Tharsis, which contains several other large volcanoes. Olympus Mons is over three times the height of Mount Everest, which in comparison stands at just over 8.8 km.[112] It is either the tallest or second tallest mountain in the solar system, depending how you measure, with sources ranging from about 21 to 27 km high.[113][114]
Tectonic sites
The large canyon, Valles Marineris (Latin for Mariner Valleys, also known as Agathadaemon in the old canal maps), has a length of 4,000 km and a depth of up to 7 km. The length of Valles Marineris is equivalent to the length of Europe and extends across one-fifth the circumference of Mars. By comparison, the Grand Canyon on Earth is only 446 km long and nearly 2 km deep. Valles Marineris was formed due to the swelling of the Tharsis area which caused the crust in the area of Valles Marineris to collapse. In 2012, it was proposed that Valles Marineris is not just a graben, but also a plate boundary where 150 km of transverse motion has occurred, making Mars a planet with possibly a two-plate tectonic arrangement
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Mars is scarred by a number of impact craters: a total of 43,000 craters with a diameter of 5 km or greater have been found.[108] The largest confirmed of these is the Hellas impact basin, a light albedo feature clearly visible from Earth.[109] Due to the smaller mass of Mars, the probability of an object colliding with the planet is about half that of the Earth. Mars is located closer to the asteroid belt, so it has an increased chance of being struck by materials from that source. Mars is also more likely to be struck by short-period comets, i.e. those that lie within the orbit of Jupiter.[110] In spite of this, there are far fewer craters on Mars compared with the Moon, because the atmosphere of Mars provides protection against small meteors. Some craters have a morphology that suggests the ground became wet after the meteor impacted.[111]
Volcanoes
Top down view of Olympus Mons
Main article: Volcanism on Mars
The shield volcano, Olympus Mons (Mount Olympus) is an extinct volcano in the vast upland region Tharsis, which contains several other large volcanoes. Olympus Mons is over three times the height of Mount Everest, which in comparison stands at just over 8.8 km.[112] It is either the tallest or second tallest mountain in the solar system, depending how you measure, with sources ranging from about 21 to 27 km high.[113][114]
Tectonic sites
The large canyon, Valles Marineris (Latin for Mariner Valleys, also known as Agathadaemon in the old canal maps), has a length of 4,000 km and a depth of up to 7 km. The length of Valles Marineris is equivalent to the length of Europe and extends across one-fifth the circumference of Mars. By comparison, the Grand Canyon on Earth is only 446 km long and nearly 2 km deep. Valles Marineris was formed due to the swelling of the Tharsis area which caused the crust in the area of Valles Marineris to collapse. In 2012, it was proposed that Valles Marineris is not just a graben, but also a plate boundary where 150 km of transverse motion has occurred, making Mars a planet with possibly a two-plate tectonic arrangement
