The layered Martian history exposed in Valles Marineris
Click for full image.
Cool image time! Like the Grand Canyon in the United States, Mars’ largest canyon, Valles Marineris, appears to have been carved out of a layered terrain, thus exposing those many layers in the walls of the canyon.
Valles Marineris, however, is much much larger than the Grand Canyon. You could fit dozens of Grand Canyons inside it and hardly fill it. Yet, its walls have the same layered look, suggesting that in Mars’ long geological history, first came many events that laid down new layers time after time, followed by a long period when the laying ceased and other events carved out the canyon to its almost 30,000 foot depth (which by the way is also about six times deeper than the Grand Canyon).
Today’s cool image to the right, cropped and reduced to post here, was taken on September 5, 2021 and shows a terraced terrain on the floor of Candor Chasma, one small side canyon of Valles Marineris that is still much larger than the Grand Canyon. The black dot in the overview map above indicates its location. I roughly estimate the elevation difference between the high and low spots in the picture is about 3,000 feet, a difference that while two-thirds that of the depth of the Grand Canyon is almost unnoticeable within the depths of Valles Marineris.
This layering is probably the canyon’s most important geological feature. See these previous cool images here and here for other examples. When geologists finally arrive on Mars and can begin dating these layers in detail they will likely reveal the planet’s entire geological history, going back five to six billion years.
Most of the layers are probably volcanic flood lava laid down by repeated eruptions from the giant volcanoes to the west. In between and within however will be deposits from the Martian atmosphere, telling us its composition and thickness. All told, the layers of Valles Marineris will likely unlock almost all of the most basic secrets of Martian geology.
We merely have to go there to find out.
The support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in this year has the propaganda mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.
Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Even today NASA and Congress refuse to recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black.
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Click for full image.
Cool image time! Like the Grand Canyon in the United States, Mars’ largest canyon, Valles Marineris, appears to have been carved out of a layered terrain, thus exposing those many layers in the walls of the canyon.
Valles Marineris, however, is much much larger than the Grand Canyon. You could fit dozens of Grand Canyons inside it and hardly fill it. Yet, its walls have the same layered look, suggesting that in Mars’ long geological history, first came many events that laid down new layers time after time, followed by a long period when the laying ceased and other events carved out the canyon to its almost 30,000 foot depth (which by the way is also about six times deeper than the Grand Canyon).
Today’s cool image to the right, cropped and reduced to post here, was taken on September 5, 2021 and shows a terraced terrain on the floor of Candor Chasma, one small side canyon of Valles Marineris that is still much larger than the Grand Canyon. The black dot in the overview map above indicates its location. I roughly estimate the elevation difference between the high and low spots in the picture is about 3,000 feet, a difference that while two-thirds that of the depth of the Grand Canyon is almost unnoticeable within the depths of Valles Marineris.
This layering is probably the canyon’s most important geological feature. See these previous cool images here and here for other examples. When geologists finally arrive on Mars and can begin dating these layers in detail they will likely reveal the planet’s entire geological history, going back five to six billion years.
Most of the layers are probably volcanic flood lava laid down by repeated eruptions from the giant volcanoes to the west. In between and within however will be deposits from the Martian atmosphere, telling us its composition and thickness. All told, the layers of Valles Marineris will likely unlock almost all of the most basic secrets of Martian geology.
We merely have to go there to find out.
The support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in this year has the propaganda mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.
Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Even today NASA and Congress refuse to recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation:
5. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above. And if you buy the books through the ebookit links, I get a larger cut and I get it sooner.
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