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Claritas Fossae

Coordinates: 31°30′S 104°06′W / 31.5°S 104.1°W / -31.5; -104.1
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Claritas Fossae
Claritas Fossae as seen by Mars Express.
Feature typeFault system
Coordinates31°30′S 104°06′W / 31.5°S 104.1°W / -31.5; -104.1[1]
Length~2 030 km

Claritas Fossae is a densely-dissected highland terrain on the Tharsis Rise of Mars, located immediately south of the Tharsis Montes. The fossae of the Claritas Fossae region are many superposed swarms of graben.

Context

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Claritas Fossae is a group of troughs in the Phoenicis Lacus and Thaumasia quadrangles of Mars, located at 31.5 S and 104.1 W. The structure is 2,050.0 km long and was named after a classical albedo feature name.[1] It was proposed that this area might be still tectonically active in relatively recent times.[2]

Geology

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Long narrow depressions on Mars are called fossae. This term is derived from Latin; therefore fossa is singular and fossae is plural.[3] Troughs form when the crust is stretched until it breaks. The stretching can be due to the large weight of a nearby volcano. Fossae/pit craters are common near volcanoes in the Tharsis and Elysium regions.[4] A trough often has two breaks with a middle section moving down, leaving steep cliffs along the sides; such a trough is called a graben.[5]

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In culture

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Claritas Fossae is the setting of the short story Loyal Soldier, part of the Mars Mars 2194 by Canadian author Jack Stornoway.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Claritas Fossae". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program. (Center Latitude: -27.89°, Center Longitude: 255.76°)
  2. ^ Pieterek, Bartosz; Brož, Petr; Hauber, Ernst (September 2024). "Recent faulting at the Claritas Rupes scarp on Mars". Icarus. 420: 116198. Bibcode:2024Icar..42016198P. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2024.116198.
  3. ^ "Mars Art Gallery Martian Feature Name Nomenclature".
  4. ^ Skinner, J., L. Skinner, and J. Kargel. 2007. Re-assessment of Hydrovolcanism-based Resurfacing within the Galaxias Fossae Region of Mars. Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVIII (2007)
  5. ^ "HiRISE | Craters and Pit Crater Chains in Chryse Planitia (PSP_008641_2105)".