Vertical plan view of Ius and Tithonium Chasma
Vertical plan view of Ius and Tithonium Chasma
The two rift valleys of Ius and Tithonium Chasma, up to 7000 metres deep, form the western part of the east-to-west running part of Valles Marineris, the largest rift valley in the Solar System, which is altogether 3800 kilometres long. The two chasmata extend a total of 800 and 840 kilometres, respectively. North is on the right in the image. The image section is approximately 300 by 110 kilometres, which is roughly the size of the German state of Brandenburg. There are striking differences between the two structures: whereas in Ius Chasma (left) material primarily from landslides covers the floor of the rift valley, in Tithonium Chasma it is dark sands of volcanic origin transported there by the wind that characterise the landscape.
