Mangala Fossae

The complex channel at the top of the image is part of Mangala Fossae. At the top of this image the main graben is interacting with a preexisting impact creater. Other depression towards the bottom of the image are simple linear features. Mangala Fossae are long linear depressions called a graben and were formed by extension of the crust and faulting. When large amounts of pressure or tension are applied to rocks on timescales that are fast enough that the rock cannot respond by deforming, the rock breaks along faults. In the case of a graben, two parallel faults are formed by extension of the crust and the rock in between the faults drops downward into the space created by the extension. Mangala Fossae is 828 km long (514 miles).