Valles Marineris on Mars is the deepest known gorge in the solar system, measuring 4,500 km long, 200 km wide, and 7.7 km deep. It is believed to have formed due to a tectonic crack and erosion. It could be a potential colonization target for humans in the future.
The deepest known gorge in the solar system is Valles Marineris on Mars. It is known to be the deepest gorge of any rocky planet in the solar system, as we have already mapped all four in detail (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars) and found nothing deeper. Valles Marineris is 4,500 km (2,800 mi) long, 200 km (125 mi) wide and 7.7 km (4.8 mi) deep. By comparison, the Grand Canyon is 446 km (277 mi) long, 6.4 to 29 km (4 to 18 mi) wide, and reaches a depth of about 1.6 km (1 mi). The deepest fissure on our planet, the wet and geologically active surface of the Earth is not suitable for the formation of extremely deep gorges.
The Mariana Trench, located in the Pacific Ocean near the Philippines, is 10.9 km, 6.77 miles below sea level, but less than half the depth measured relative to the sea floor, making it less than the depth of Valles Marineris. While still unknown, it could be that deeper gorges exist in the solar system at currently veiled or distant locations, such as the rocky cores of gas giants or outer solar system bodies such as Pluto or Eris. The New Horizons spacecraft is en route to Pluto and will arrive there in 2015, allowing us to map Pluto’s surface in detail and determine the presence of any deep gorges.
Most scientists believe that the cause of the formation of Valles Merineris is a tectonic crack formed during planetary cooling and subsequently widened due to erosion. If so, the gorge could be extremely old. Valles Merineris means sailor’s valley in Latin, named after Mariner 9, a NASA Mars orbiter who discovered the chasm in 1971. Valles Merineris shares the planet with the tallest mountain in the solar system, Olympus Mons, several times taller than Mount Everest.
Valles Merineris could be a favorable colonization target for humans in the future. Due to its depth, the valley is protected from cosmic rays and the intense heat of the surface.
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