The geology of the Navua Valles region of Mars

Abstract

The Navua Valles are a system of channels and valleys on the inner rim of Hellas Basin. The aim of this mapping study was to determine the geologic history of the Navua Valles region; and the relationships between the basement, flow, and channel units along the northeastern slope of Hellas Basin. We have produced a 1:1 million scale geologic map of the Navua Valles region, utilizing standard USGS geologic mapping procedures, but not within a regular USGS mapping project. We selected the mapping area boundaries specifically to cover the Navua Valles drainage systems. The primary base of this mapping effort was a mosaic of 161 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Context Camera images, at approximately 6 m/pixel. This paper is part of a double publication, one paper describing the geology of this area, and this paper presenting the geologic map produced during the investigation.

Keywords

• Planetary geology
• Mars
• fluvial systems
• planetary geomorphology
• drainage networks
• volcanic plains