View source for Chryse Planitia

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{short description|Planitia on Mars}}
{{Infobox feature on celestial object
|name        = Chryse Planitia
|image       = [[File:Mars Viking 11h016.png|200px]]
|caption     = This image was acquired at the [[Viking 1|Viking Lander 1]] site in Chryse Planitia. It has been reproduced as a false color image.
|location    = North of [[Margaritifer Terra]], south of [[Acidalia Planitia]], west of [[Arabia Terra]]
|coordinates = {{coord|28.4|N|319.7|E|globe:mars_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|diameter    = {{convert|1600|km|mi}}
|eponym      = Legendary island [[Chryse and Argyre|Chryse]]
|type        = Plains
}}
'''Chryse Planitia''' {{IPAc-en|'|k|r|aɪ|s|iː|_|p|l|ə|'|n|ɪ|ʃ|i|ə}} (Greek, "''Golden Plain''") is a smooth circular plain in the northern equatorial region of [[Mars]] close to the [[Tharsis]] region to the west, centered at {{coord|28.4|319.7|globe:Mars}}.<ref name = "USGS_Chryse_Planitia">{{cite web
 | title = Chryse Planitia
 | work = Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature
 | publisher = [[USGS Astrogeology Science Center]] | url = https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/1203
 | access-date = March 10, 2015}}</ref> Chryse Planitia lies partially in the [[Lunae Palus quadrangle]], partially in the [[Oxia Palus quadrangle]], partially in the [[Mare Acidalium quadrangle]].  It is 1600&nbsp;km or 994&nbsp;mi in diameter and with a floor 2.5&nbsp;km below the average planetary surface altitude, and has been suggested to be an ancient buried [[Impact crater|impact basin]], though this is contested.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Pan|first1=Lu|last2=Quantin-Nataf|first2=Cathy|last3=Breton|first3=Sylvain|last4=Michaut|first4=Chloé|date=2019-09-18|title=The impact origin and evolution of Chryse Planitia on Mars revealed by buried craters|journal=Nature Communications|language=en|volume=10|issue=1|pages=4257|doi=10.1038/s41467-019-12162-0|pmid=31534129 |pmc=6751168 |s2cid=202641081 |issn=2041-1723|doi-access=free|bibcode=2019NatCo..10.4257P }}</ref> It has several features in common with [[lunar mare|lunar maria]], such as [[Wrinkle-ridge|wrinkle ridge]]s. The density of impact craters in the {{convert|100|to|2000|m}} range is close to half the average for lunar maria.

Chryse Planitia shows evidence of water erosion in the past, and is the bottom end for many outflow channels from the southern highlands as well as from [[Valles Marineris]] and the flanks of the Tharsis bulge. It is one of the lowest regions on Mars ({{convert|2|to|3|km}} below the mean surface elevation of Mars), so water would tend to flow into it
<ref>Czechowski, L., et al., 2023. The formation of cone chains in the Chryse Planitia region on Mars 771 and the thermodynamic aspects of this process. Icarus, 772 doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2023.115473</ref>
  
The elevation generally goes down from the Tharsis Ridge to Chryse. [[Kasei Valles]], [[Maja Valles]], and [[Nanedi Valles]]
appear to run from high areas (Tharsis Ridge) to Chryse Planitia.  On the other side of Chryse, to the east, the land gets higher. [[Ares Vallis]] travels from this high region, then empties into Chryse.  Much of [[Tiu Valles]] and [[Simud Valles]] move toward Chryse as well.<ref>Victor R. Baker.1982.The Channels of Mars, {{ISBN|0-292-71068-2}}</ref>
Several ancient river valleys discovered in Chryse Planitia by the Viking Orbiters, as part of the [[Viking program]], provided strong evidence for a great deal of running water on the surface of Mars.<ref>Strom, R.G., Steven K. Croft, and Nadine G. Barlow, "The Martian Impact Cratering Record," Mars, University of Arizona Press, {{ISBN|0-8165-1257-4}}</ref><ref>Raeburn, P.  1998.  Uncovering the Secrets of the Red Planet Mars.  National Geographic Society.  Washington D.C.</ref><ref>Moore, P. et al.  1990.  The Atlas of the Solar System. Mitchell Beazley Publishers NY, NY.</ref>

<gallery class="center" widths="190px" heights="180px">
Chryse Planitia Map Relative.png|Chryse Planitia Map Relative
</gallery>

<gallery class="center" widths="190px" heights="180px">
Image:Vedra, Maumee, and Maja valles.jpg|Waters from [[Vedra Valles]], [[Maumee Valles]], and [[Maja Valles]] went from Lunae Planum on the left, to Chryse Planitia on the right.  Image is located in [[Lunae Palus quadrangle]] and was taken by Viking Orbiter.

Image:Kasei Valles topolabled.JPG|Area around Northern Kasei Valles, showing relationships among [[Kasei Valles]], [[Bahram Vallis]], [[Vedra Valles]], [[Maumee Valles]], and [[Maja Valles]].  Map location is in [[Lunae Palus quadrangle]] and includes parts of Lunae Planum and Chryse Planitia.  These river valleys once carried water to Chryse Planitia, a low area.

Vallesmaumeevedrabox.jpg|Map showing relative positions of a number of features in and near Chryse Planitia, including Vedra Valles, Maumee Valles, and Maja Valles.  Box indicates where these valleys can be found.  The Viking 1 landing site is indicated.  Colors show elevation.

Image:Ares Vallis from Viking.jpg|[[Ares Vallis]], capture by Viking and edited as a false color image.  The channel is 25&nbsp;km wide and about 1&nbsp;km deep.  It would be quite spectacular to walk down this valley.
</gallery>

It has been theorized that the Chryse basin may have contained a large lake or an ocean during the [[Hesperian]] or early [[Amazonian Age|Amazonian]] periods since all of the large [[outflow channels]] entering it end at the same elevation, at which some surface features suggest an ancient shoreline may be present. Chryse basin opens into the [[North Polar Basin (Mars)|North Polar Basin]], so if an ocean was present Chryse would have been a large bay.

''[[Viking 1]]'' landed in Chryse Planitia in 1976, but its landing site was not near the outflow channels and no [[fluvial]] features were visible; the terrain at that point appeared primarily volcanic in origin. The [[Mars Pathfinder]] landed in [[Ares Vallis]], at the end of one of the outflow channels emptying into Chryse.

== See also ==

* {{annotated link|Chryse Alien}}
* {{annotated link|List of plains on Mars}}
* {{annotated link|Geography of Mars}}
* {{annotated link|Climate of Mars}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.google.com/mars/#lat=25.324166&lon=-30.234375&q=Chryse%20Planitia Google Mars scrollable map] – centered on Chryse Planitia
*Martel, L.M.V. (June 2001) Outflow Channels May Make a Case for a Bygone Ocean on Mars. ''Planetary Science Research Discoveries''. http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/June01/MarsChryse.html
{{Geography of Mars}}
{{Viking and Mars Pathfinder}}
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[[Category:Plains on Mars]]
[[Category:Impact craters on Mars|#]]
[[Category:Lunae Palus quadrangle]]
[[Category:Oxia Palus quadrangle]]
[[Category:Mare Acidalium quadrangle]]