jccwrt
Atlantis Chaos
The oddly shaped hills of Atlantis Chaos are probably the heavily eroded remnant of an ancient plateau that once covered the region. This erosional hypothesis is supported by numerous channels found surrounding the region.
More geological history can be gleaned from up-close looks at individual hills. Narrow dark streaks running through many of those hills indicate either subsurface volcanic activity (dikes), or fracture traces altered by hydrothermal activity.
This image was acquired by the Mars Express HRSC on the spacecraft's 12,724th orbit of Mars, January 5, 2014. North is to the right.
Image Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/J. Cowart, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Atlantis Chaos
The oddly shaped hills of Atlantis Chaos are probably the heavily eroded remnant of an ancient plateau that once covered the region. This erosional hypothesis is supported by numerous channels found surrounding the region.
More geological history can be gleaned from up-close looks at individual hills. Narrow dark streaks running through many of those hills indicate either subsurface volcanic activity (dikes), or fracture traces altered by hydrothermal activity.
This image was acquired by the Mars Express HRSC on the spacecraft's 12,724th orbit of Mars, January 5, 2014. North is to the right.
Image Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/J. Cowart, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO