Ganges Chasma

Ganges Chasma

Coordinates	8°00′S 48°06′W / 8.0°S 48.1°WCoordinates: 8°00′S 48°06′W / 8.0°S 48.1°W
Length	584.0 km

Ganges Chasma is a deep canyon at the eastern end of the vast Valles Marineris system on Mars, an offshoot of Capri Chasma. It is named after the River Ganges in South Asia. Ganges Chasma is thought to have formed through a series of catastrophic discharges of water and CO₂ from chaos terrains such as that preserved in Ganges Chaos at its southern margin.^[1] Most of the evidence for these discharges and the ensuing collapses is believed to have been washed away.^[1] Prior to developing an outlet that joined it to Capri Chasma and the connected outflow channels to its east, Ganges Chasma may at some point in the Noachian period have contained a lake which drained northward through partially subsurface pathways into Shalbatana Vallis.^[2]

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  Cliff in northern wall of Ganges Chasma, as seen by THEMIS. Click on image to see relationship with other features in the Coprates region.

References

1. Rodriguez, J. A. P.; Kargel, J.; Crown, D. A.; Bleamaster, L. F.; Tanaka, K. L.; Baker, V.; Miyamoto, H.; Dohm, J. M.; Sasaki, S.; Komatsu, G. (September 2006). "Headward growth of chasmata by volatile outbursts, collapse, and drainage: Evidence from Ganges chaos, Mars". Geophysical Research Letters. 33 (18). doi:10.1029/2006GL026275. ISSN 0094-8276.
2. Rodriguez, J. A. P.; Sasaki, S.; Miyamoto, H. (2003). "Nature and hydrological relevance of the Shalbatana complex underground cavernous system". Geophysical Research Letters. 30 (6). doi:10.1029/2002GL016547. ISSN 0094-8276.