Cerberus Fossae/Athabasca Valles

The top of today’s VIS image shows a section of Cerberus Fossae. Located southeast of the Elysium Planitia volcanic complex, the linear graben near the top of the image were created by tectonic forces related to volcanic activity. The graben are sources of both channels and significant volcanic flows. Cerberus Fossae cuts across features such as hills, indicating the relative youth of the tectonic activity. Graben form where extensional tectonic forces allows blocks of material to subside between paired faults. In the central part of the image part of Athabasca Valles is visible. Arising from Cerberus Fossae, the formation mode of this channel is still being debated. While the channel features are similar to water flow, other features are similar to lava flows, and yet other features have an appearance of slabs of material that floated on an underlying fluid. It is thought that Athabasca Valles is the youngest outflow channel system on Mars. Athabasca Valles is just one of the complex channel formations in the Elysium Planitia region. The Cerberus Fossae tectonic features are 1235km (767 miles) long. Athabasca Valles is 270km (168 miles) long.