Atlantis basin is an eroded impact crater in the southern hemisphere of Mars, in the Phaethontis quadrangle,

Sirenum Terra Terra Sirenum is a large region in the southern hemisphere of the planet Mars. It is centered at and covers 3900 km at its broadest extent. It covers latitudes 10 to 70 South and longitudes 110 to 180 W. Terra Sirenum is an upland area nota ...

e region, centered at 177° West, 35° South. It was formed during the early

Noachian period The Noachian is a geologic system and early time period on the planet Mars characterized by high rates of meteorite and asteroid impacts and the possible presence of abundant surface water. The absolute age of the Noachian period is uncertain b ...

. Atlantis basin contains

Atlantis Chaos Atlantis Chaos is a region of chaos terrain in the Phaethontis quadrangle of Mars. It is located around 34.7° south latitude, and 177.6° west longitude. It is encompassed by the Atlantis basin. The region is across, and was named after an al ...

, a region of

chaos terrain In astrogeology, chaos terrain, or chaotic terrain, is a planetary surface area where features such as ridges, cracks, and plains appear jumbled and enmeshed with one another. Chaos terrain is a notable feature of the planets Mars and Mercury, Jup ...

. It also contains an ancient dry lakebed (possibly part of

Eridania Lake Eridania Lake is a theorized ancient lake on Mars with a surface area of roughly 1.1 million square kilometers. It is located at the source of the Ma'adim Vallis outflow channel and extends into Eridania quadrangle and the Phaethontis quadr ...

), as well as structures that appear to be volcanic

dike Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes, ...

s and recently formed gullies, which suggests the possibility of long-term

hydrothermal activity Hydrothermal circulation in its most general sense is the circulation of hot water (Ancient Greek ὕδωρ, ''water'',Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with th ...

. Image:Atlantis Chaos.JPG,

, within the Atlantis basin, as seen by HiRISE. Click on image to see mantle covering and possible gullies. The two images are different parts of the original image. They have different scales.

References

# Phaethontis quadrangle {{Mars-stub

See also

References