home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- This area is on the edge of the
- vast "Hellas Planitia", or
- "Plain of Hell. Hellas is a
- nearly circular area about 1200
- miles across. This is the largest
- impact basin on Mars. These
- basins are the result of massive
- strikes by ancient asteroids
- which gouge out billions of
- tons of material. The heat
- generated by the blast
- will melt much of what's left
- filling up the basin with
- a lake of lava. When it cools,
- we have a flat plain.
-