Kasei Valles

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River valley on Mars
Kasei Valles
Section of the meridional course of the current (left half of the picture) with the branch of the northern arm (at the top) and the southern arm
Section of the meridional course of the current (left half of the picture) with the branch of the northern arm (at the top)
and the southern arm
Kasei Valles (Mars)
Kasei Valles
position 18 °  N , 68 °  W Coordinates: 18 °  N , 68 °  W
expansion 2500 km
history
Age 1.5 billion years

Kasei Valles ( Valley of Mars - Kasei is the Japanese name for Mars) is the largest river valley on the planet Mars with a length of almost 2,500 km .

It begins in a “chaotic” region north of the Valles Marineris rift system , runs north and divides into several arms that flow into the western part of the Chryse Planitia lowland . Due to the large fork in the east into a northern and a southern arm, the plural form of a valley system is chosen to designate this valley. In his case, however, the individual arms do not have their own name.

Kasei Valles was probably formed between 3.5 and 1.5 billion years ago when periodically occurring large amounts of water made their way. Based on the structure of the valley, it is estimated that up to 1 billion m³ flowed here per second - this corresponds to 10,000 times the amount of the Amazon on earth. The water masses were released by melting processes, whereby the ice lying under the surface of Mars was heated by tectonic processes.

  • High resolution THEMIS daytime infrared image of Kasei Valles mosaic and its surroundings.

  • View of streamlined landforms in Kasei Valles (detail from THEMIS mosaic to the left).

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