Tibesti Range, Chad

Click on Image to Enlarge  (JPG) Tibesti Range, Chad (3,930,557 bytes) ( 3,598 x 3,404 )

Shown here are deeply incised canyons on the southwest slope of the Yega Volcano located in the southwest part of the Tibesti Volcanic Range, in northern Chad. Characteristic steep-walled theater-headed canyons form as overlying relatively soft Tarso Voon ignimbrites are stripped back over more resistant basement schists, through the action of groundwater seepage and surface runoff during infrequent storms, or during previous eras of wetter climate. Such differential erodability very likely also played a part in the formation of ancient complex ramified canyon networks on Mars of similar scale and appearance, and may reflect the former presence of more abundant supplies of near-surface water during warmer periods on Mars in its distant past. The ASTER image was acquired on 12 Jan 2003, covers an area of 51 x 54 km, and is centered near 20.3 degrees north latitude, 17.1 degrees east longitude.

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Tibesti Range, Chad Type: (JPG) Size: (3,930,557 bytes) Resolution ( 3,598 x 3,404 )