Looking down on Mars's Arcadia Planitia
Looking down on Mars's Arcadia Planitia
Arcadia Planitia (the 'Arcadian Plain') lies in the mid-northern latitudes of Mars. The landscape is strongly characterised by winds sweeping across the northern lowlands. Dark volcanic material has been deposited on the ridge of the terrain, which acts as an obstacle to the wind. The reddish regions are covered by countless sculpted ridges, known as yardangs, which have been carved into the rock by dust carried in the wind. On the lower right, an impact crater approximately 15 kilometres across is visible; when it formed, volatile substances in the subsurface – possibly ice – were mobilised, mixed with the ejected material and created a lobe-shaped ejecta blanket.
