Kasei Valles (Kasei means "Mars" in Japanese) is a large channel system in the Lunae Palus quadrangle, on Mars. It is located at 24.6° north latitude and 65° west longitude. It begins in Echus Chasma, near Valles Marineris, and empties into Chryse Planitia, not far from where Viking 1 landed. Kasei is about 2,400 km (1,500 mi) long, and some sections of Kasei Valles are 300 km (190 mi) wide. Sacra Mensa, a large tableland, divides Kasei into a northern and southern channel. A significant feature of the Lunae Palus region, Kasei Valles is one of the largest outflow channels on Mars. Like other outflow channels, it was likely carved by liquid water, possibly released by volcanic subsurface heating in Tharsis/Lunae Planum region, either as a one-time catastropic event or multiple flooding events over a long time period. Others have proposed that certain landforms were produced by glacial rather than liquid flow.
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Map of Lunae Palus quadrangle with labels. Kasei Valles is a very large ancient river valley.
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Kasei Valles, seen in MOLA elevation data. Flow was from bottom left to right. North is up. Image is approx. 1600 km across. The channel system extends another 1200 km south of this image to Hebes Chasma.
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