Mars: faults in Claritas Fossae. - Mars: fractures in Claritas Fossae - Fracture system in...

Mars: faults in Claritas Fossae. - Mars: fractures in Claritas Fossae - Fracture system in Claritas Fossae, a region south of the Tharsis volcanoes. These fractures, ranging from a few kilometres to a hundred kilometres, are probably associated with the tectonic activity that led to elevation of the Tharsis plateau. Perspective image obtained by the Mars Express probe in 2004. On 29 June 2004 the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) onboard the ESA spacecraft Mars Express obtained image data in orbit 563 with a ground resolution of approximately 62 metres per pixel. The images cover Claritas Fossae at approximately 25* southern latitude and 253* eastern longitude. Claritas Fossae is located on the Tharsis rise, south of the three large volcanoes known as the Tharsis Montes, and extends roughly north to south for approximately 1800 km. Claritas Fossae, which is composed of a series of linear fractures with widths ranging from a few kilometres to 100 km, is roughly 150 km wide in the north and 550 km wide in the south. The series of fractures comprising Claritas Fossae are radial to the Tharsis rise, consistent with the idea that they are the result of enormous stresses associated with formation of the 8 to 10 km high Tharsis rise. In the east of the color image, a prominent linear feature exhibiting a dark shadow is visible. This is most likely a normal fault, the eastern edge of a 100 km wide graben, a block of terrain that drops relative to its surroundings as a result of extension. The graben is characterized by a smooth surface and the elevation difference between the eastern edge of the graben and the plains east of the normal fault is roughly 2.3 km. Alternatively, this 100 km wide feature may have resulted from surface collapse due to magma withdrawal