Inverted Relief
Some areas of Mars show inverted relief, where features that were once depressions, like streams, are now instead above the surface. These may have been formed when materials, like large rocks, were deposited in low-lying areas, then left behind after erosion (perhaps wind which can not move large rocks) removed much of the surface layers. Other ways of making inverted relief might be lava flowing down a stream bed or materials being cemented by minerals dissolved in water. On Earth, materials cemented by silica are highly resistant to all kinds of erosional forces. Inverted relief in the shape of streams are further evidence of water flowing on the Martian surface in past times. There are many examples of inverted channels near Juventae Chasma; some are shown in the image of Juventae Chasma below.
-
Inverted Channels near Juventae Chasma, as seen by HiRISE. Channels were once regular stream channels. Scale bar is 500 meters long.
-
Inverted Streams near Juventae Chasma, as seen by Mars Global Surveyor. These streams begin at the top of a ridge then run together.
Read more about this topic: Coprates Quadrangle
Famous quotes containing the words inverted and/or relief:
“Ulysses ... is a dogged attempt to cover the universe with mud, an inverted Victorianism, an attempt to make crossness and dirt succeed where sweetness and light failed, a simplification of the human character in the interests of Hell.”
—E.M. (Edward Morgan)
“What do we want with this vast and worthless area, of this region of savages and wild beasts, of deserts, of shifting sands and whirlwinds, of dust, of cactus and prairie dogs; to what use could we ever hope to put these great deserts, or those endless mountain ranges, impenetrable and covered to their very base with eternal snow? What can we ever hope to do with the western coast, a coast of 3,000 miles, rockbound, cheerless, uninviting and not a harbor in it?”
—For the State of Kansas, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)