Eridania Planitia is a plain located in the southern highlands of Mars. It borders the Hellas basin to the west, Promethei Terra to the south, and the massive shield volcano Hesperia Planum to the north.[2] The name Eridania Planitia was approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) on 22 September 2010; it is named after the closest classical albedo feature.[1]
| Feature type | Plains |
|---|---|
| Location | Eridania quadrangle, Mars |
| Coordinates | 38°09′S 122°13′E / 38.15°S 122.21°E[1] |
| Diameter | 1,062.13 km (659.98 mi) |
| Eponym | Lands of Eridanos |
Characteristics
As with much of the Martian southern highlands, Eridania Planitia is ancient, with an estimated age of roughly 3.7–4 billion years old.[3] However, subregions within the plains are younger, with a large depression (informally named the Morpheos basin) likely forming within a period spanning between 3.52–3.67 billion years ago.[2] Additionally, Eridania Planitia is host to a concentration of expanded craters, indicating an ice-rich subsurface.[4]
References
Interactive image map of the global topography of Mars. Hover over the image to see the names of over 60 prominent geographic features, and click to link to them. Coloring of the base map indicates relative elevations, based on data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. Whites and browns indicate the highest elevations (+12 to +8 km); followed by pinks and reds (+8 to +3 km); yellow is 0 km; greens and blues are lower elevations (down to −8 km). Axes are latitude and longitude; Polar regions are noted. See also
