List of largest rifts, canyons and valleys in the Solar System
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Following are the longest, widest, and deepest rifts and valleys in various worlds of the Solar System.
List
[edit]| World | Rift/Valley | Length | Max. width | Max. depth | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venus | Baltis Vallis | 6,800 km (4,200 mi) | 3 km (2 mi) | A lava channel | |
| Earth | Atlantic Ocean | ≈10,000 km (6,000 mi) | ≈6,000 km (4,000 mi) | 7.758 km (4.821 mi) | Length taken to be that of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. (The ridge also has a secondary rift valley running its length.) The width is an average taken along the spreading ridges (Georgia–Senegal, Brazil – Bight of Benin, etc.). The greatest depth is the Romanche Trench. (The Puerto Rico Trench is not part of the rift system.) |
| Great Rift Valley | 6,000 km (3,700 mi) | 220 km (140 mi) | 2 km (1 mi) | Width and depth are those of the Red Sea Rift, discounting continental shelves < 200 m deep. (These may not be the extremes of the whole rift system.) Length of the Red Sea section 2,250 km (1,400 mi). | |
| Canadian Arctic Rift System | 4,800 km (3,000 mi) | A northwesterly continuation of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. | |||
| West Antarctic Rift System | |||||
| Midcontinent Rift System | 2,000 km (1,200 mi) | 70 km (40 mi) | 0.27 km (0.17 mi) | Width & depth Isle Royale – Keweenaw Peninsula; may not be widest point. | |
| Grand Canyon | 277 km (200 mi) | 4–18 km (0–10 mi) | 1.857 km (1 mi) | ||
| Colca Canyon | 4.160 km (2.58 mi) | ||||
| Cotahuasi Canyon | 3.535 km (2.197 mi) | ||||
| Moon | Vallis Snellius | 592 km (368 mi) | ≈ 30 km (20 mi)? | Width assumed to be approx. that of Vallis Rheita | |
| Mars | Valles Marineris | 3,769 km (2,342 mi) | 200 km (100 mi) | 7 km (4 mi) | |
| Kasei Valles | 1,780 km (1,110 mi) | 200 km (100 mi) | 2–3 km | ||
| Tiu Valles | 1,720 km (1,070 mi) | ||||
| Ares Vallis | 1,700 km (1,100 mi) | ||||
| Vesta | equatorial channels | Possibly up to 1,700 km (1,100 mi) | Length may be as much as the 1790-km circumference of Vesta | ||
| Divalia Fossae | approx. 465 km (290 mi) | ≈ 22 km | Compression fracture from Rheasilvia | ||
| Saturnalia Fossae | at least 365 km (230 mi) | ≈ 39 km | 365 km visible at one point; rest in northern shadow.[1] Compression fracture from Veneneia. | ||
| Europa | ? | ? | More than 20 km (10 mi) | Moon of Jupiter | |
| Tethys | Ithaca Chasma | 2,000 km (1,000 mi) | 100 km (60 mi) | 3–5 km (2–3 mi) | Moon of Saturn. Ithaca span approx. 75% the circumference of the Moon. |
| Charon | Argo Chasma | 700 km (430 mi) | ? | 9 km (6 mi) | Moon of Pluto. Part of a belt of grabens that span most of the circumference of the moon. Only a section was seen on limb of Charon and so exact length uncertain. Not yet officially named.[1] |
| Caleuche Chasma | 400 km (250 mi) | ? | 13 km (8.1 mi) | Depth estimated in the range 10–16 km (6.2–9.9 mi).[2] | |
| Miranda | tectonic grabens | 20 km | 10-20 km | Extensive series of grabens and scarps that cover most of the moon. | |
| Titania | Messina Chasma | 1492 km (900 mi) | 50 km (30 mi) | 2-5 km | Geologically young belt of grabens that cut through craters. Bright, icy material exposed on canyon walls. |
| Pluto | Sleipnir Fossa | 580 km (360 mi) | 5-10 km | ≈3 km (2 mi) | One of the six extensional "spider" fractures, cuts through Tartarus Dorsa . Not yet officially named. |
| Lowell Regio canyons | ≈200 km (120 mi) | 75 km (45 mi) | ≈3-4 km | A series of canyons found very close to the north pole. Not yet officially named. |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Keeter, Bill (2016-06-23). "A 'Super Grand Canyon' on Pluto's Moon Charon". NASA. Retrieved 2017-08-14.
- ^ Schenk, Paul Michael; Beyer, Ross A.; McKinnon, William B.; Moore, Jeffrey M.; Spencer, John R.; White, Oliver L.; Singer, Kelsi; Umurhan, Orkan M.; Nimmo, Francis; Lauer, Tod R.; Grundy, William M.; Robbins, Stuart; Stern, S. Alan; Weaver, Harold A.; Young, Leslie A.; Smith, K. Ennico; Olkin, Cathy (2018). "Breaking up is hard to do: Global cartography and topography of Pluto's mid-sized icy Moon Charon from New Horizons". Icarus. 315: 124–145. Bibcode:2018Icar..315..124S. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2018.06.010. ISSN 0019-1035. S2CID 125833113.
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See also: Formation and evolution of the Solar System, list of the Solar System's objects by discovery date, by orbit, and by radius or mass, and the Solar System Portal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||