Valles Marineris


Valles Marineris

(val -eez ma-ră-nair -iss) A vast system of canyons on Mars photographed by Mariner 9. The canyons had long been recognized as a feature of the Martian surface, subject to changes in brightness, and known collectively as Coprates canyon. They were renamed Valles Marineris in commemoration of the Mariner project. The Valles Marineris are located near the Martian equator and centered on the coordinates 14° S latitude and 59° W longitude (see areography). See Mars, surface features.

Valles Marineris

[¦val·əs ‚mar·ə′ner·is] (astronomy) A system of canyons which extends for over 3000 miles (5000 kilometers) along the equatorial region of Mars; it is over 300 miles (500 kilometers) wide in places and drops to more than 4 miles (6 kilometers) below the surrounding surface.