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{{Short description|Chasma on Mars}}
{{Infobox feature on celestial object
|name = Echus Chasma
|image = [[File:Echus Chasma based on day THEMIS.png|230px]]
|caption = View of Echus Chasma in mosaic of [[Thermal Emission Imaging System|THEMIS]] infrared images.
|coordinates = {{coord|1.0|N|278.0|E|globe:mars_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|length = 100 km
|width = 10 km
|depth = 4 km
}}

'''Echus Chasma''' is a [[chasma]] in the [[Lunae Planum]] high plateau north of the [[Valles Marineris]] canyon system of [[Mars]]. It is in the [[Coprates quadrangle]].<ref name="ESA">ESA (2008-07-14). Echus Chasma. Retrieved on 2008-07-15 from http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEM4CATHKHF_index_0.html.</ref> Clay has been found within it, meaning that water once sat there for a time.<ref>http://www.jhu/~gazette/21jul08/21wetmars.html {{Dead link |date=June 2015}}</ref> It may have been one of the many lakes that have been advanced for the Martian past.

Research from 2010 suggests that Mars had lakes along parts of the equator, which is where Echus Chasma lies. Although earlier research had shown that Mars had a warm and wet early history that has long since dried up, these lakes existed in the [[Hesperian]] Epoch, a much later period. Using detailed images from NASA's [[Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter]], the researchers speculate that there may have been increased volcanic activity, meteorite impacts or shifts in Mars' orbit during this period to warm Mars' atmosphere enough to melt the abundant ice present in the ground. Volcanoes would have released gases that thickened the atmosphere for a temporary period, trapping more sunlight and making it warm enough for liquid water to exist.

In this study, channels were discovered that connected lake basins near [[Ares Vallis]]. When one lake filled up, its waters overflowed the banks and carved the channels to a lower area where another lake would form.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/100104092452.htm |title=Spectacular Mars images reveal evidence of ancient lakes |publisher=Sciencedaily.com |date=January 4, 2010 |access-date=March 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160823210537/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/100104092452.htm |archive-date=August 23, 2016 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1130/G30579.1 |last1=Gupta |first1=Sanjeev |last2=Warner |first2=Nicholas |last3=Kim |first3=Rack |last4=Lin |first4=Yuan |last5=Muller |first5=Jan |last6=-1#Jung- |first6=Shih- |date=2010 |title=Hesperian equatorial thermokarst lakes in Ares Vallis as evidence for transient warm conditions on Mars |journal=Geology |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=71–74|bibcode=2010Geo....38...71W }}</ref> These dry lakes would be targets to look for evidence ([[biosignature]]s) of past life.

==Geography==
Echus Chasma is approximately 100 km long and 10 km wide, with valleys ranging in depth from around 1 km to 4 km.<ref name="ESA" /> It is the source region of the [[Kasei Valles]] [[outflow channel]], which extends northward from it. It is situated just west of [[Hebes Chasma]], to which it does not connect.

<gallery class="center" widths="190px" heights="180px">
Image:Echus Chasma.jpg|Layers in Echus Chasma as seen by HiRISE.
File:ESP 055019 1795chasmarim.jpg|Layers in Echus Chasma, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program.
</gallery>

==See also==

* [[Chasma]]
* [[Climate on Mars]]
* [[Geography of Mars]]
* [[Geology of Mars]]
* [[Graben]]
* [[HiRISE]]
* [[Lakes on Mars]]
* [[Tectonics of Mars]]

{{commons category|Echus Chasma}}

==References==
<references />

==External links==
*[http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEM4CATHKHF_index_0.html ESA - Space Science - Echus Chasma]
*{{APOD |date=23 July 2008 |title=Echus Chasma from Mars Express}}
{{Geography of Mars}}
{{Portal bar|Solar System}}

[[Category:Valleys and canyons on Mars]]
[[Category:Coprates quadrangle]]

Echus Chasma - Revision history

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