Tag Archives: dikes

Blade-like ridges on Mars have diverse origins

Thin, blade-like walls, some as tall as a 16-story building, dominate a previously undocumented network of intersecting ridges on Mars, found in images from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The simplest explanation for these impressive ridges is that lava flowed into … Continue reading

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HiRISE: Beauty of layered stratigraphy

The layered bedrock in this image was brought from several kilometers of depth during the formation of this 44 kilometer wide crater in the volcanic plains of Lunae Planum. As these layers were exhumed and brought to nearly vertical orientations, … Continue reading

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HiRISE: Ridge on crater floor in Sinus Sabaeus

A nice, long ridge on a crater floor in the Sinus Sabaeus region. Beautiful Mars series.

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HiRISE: Ridge NW of Nili Fossae

Ridge northwest of Nili Fossae. Beautiful Mars series.

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Dikes: key link between Thaumasia Planum, Tharsis, and Valles Marineris?

The area called Syria-Thaumasia is a big triangular block of Mars just east of three giant Tharsis volcanos: Arsia, Pavonis, and Ascraeus Montes. Valles Marineris bounds the block on the north, while its southwest and southeast sides are defined by … Continue reading

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Cracks in the basement

When geological forces open a crack in bedrock, molten magma can squeeze in and widen it, after which the magma cools and hardens in place. The result is a dike, and such features let geologists delve into an outcrop’s history … Continue reading

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