Custom Image Caption
A Cracked Crater
A squiggly valley (called a sinuous rille) roughly parallels the far wall of Posidonius crater. It was formed by a massive outpouring of lava that flowed chaotically across the landscape. Cutting across the center of the crater is a different type of valley (a linear rille). It formed later, as the floor of the crater was uplifted and the hardened lava cracked and pulled apart, creating a narrow trough, or graben.
Image ID: M1108017413LR
Camera: NAC
Image width: 80 km (50 mi.)