![]() Mars is unique in that is has craters with ejecta deposits that have a unique "flowing" appearance. A group is referred to as colles, the plural form of collis.Ĭrater A circular depression created by an impacting body.Ĭraters can be subdivided as being (from small to large) simple, complex, central peak basin, peak ring basin, and multi-ring basin. These are not thought to be of impact origin.Ĭhaos An area of jumbled or hummocky terrain that is thought to have been created as a result of groundwater sapping.Ĭhasma A large canyon or a depression/trough with steep sides.Ĭollis A smallish hill or knob. Alternatively, the chain of crater-like features could be volcanic in origin and represent the collapse of subsurface lava tubes.Ĭavus A crater-like, irregularly shaped depression or hollow. Therefore the dark features on Mars have a lower albedo than the bright features.Ĭatena A linear string of craters, perhaps produced by a train of impactors, much like Shoemaker-Levy 9 did to Jupiter. A surface that reflected all the light hitting it would have an albedo of 1.0 while a surface that absorbed all light hitting it would have an albedo of 0.0. The following table lists each feature type along with a brief description of what that type category represents.Īlbedo Feature These are features we observe because of variations in the amount of sunlight reflected by the martian surface. For example, is a large hole in the ground the result of a large impact or volcanic activity or the result of sapping? For a number of features, these questions will remain unanswered until we obtain much more detailed information about the features in question. However, just because two or more features look alike does not mean that they originated and evolved via the same geologic/aerologic processes. These groupings are based on the general physical appearance of the feature in question. ![]() Features on Mars are grouped by their aerological(geological) category or type.
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