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Amazonis Planitia
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dust devil on Mars
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Amazonis Planitia

region, Mars
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dust devil on Mars
dust devil on Mars Dust devil in the Amazonis Planitia region of Mars, imaged by Mars Global Surveyor on April 10, 2001. The camera view is essentially straight down, with north at the top and sunlight coming from the west. Visible in the scene is the faint track left by the dust devil as it moved from west to east; the light-colored, foreshortened dust column itself; and part of the column's long shadow being cast to the east. From its total shadow length, the dust devil was estimated to be a little more than a kilometer (0.62 mile) in height.

Amazonis Planitia is a vast, low-lying region in the northern hemisphere of Mars. It is characterized by a sparse distribution of impact craters, suggesting it formed after the period of intense bombardment in the early solar system, approximately 3.8 to 3.5 billion years ago. This region is part of the larger northern plains, which have remarkably little relief.1

The origin of these plains is debated, with some scientists suggesting they are composed of lava flows, similar to the lunar maria, while others propose they were once covered by large bodies of water fed by massive floods. Evidence for past water activity includes polygonal fracture patterns resembling permafrost regions on Earth and a thumbprint-like texture possibly indicating stagnant ice. The Viking 1 and Mars Pathfinder probes landed in Chryse Planitia, another lowland region within the northern plains, revealing a rolling, boulder-strewn landscape.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
4 Britannica Sources
  1. Mars - Sparsely cratered plains
  2. Mars - Valleys and lakes
  3. Chryse Planitia
  4. space exploration - Solar system exploration

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