Extraterrestrial Canyons, Chasms, and Rifts

Canyons, Valleys, Chasms, Lineae, Flumina, and many other terms mean the same thing, a geological depression. Many bodies of our Solar System have Canyons Valleys etc. Number of features come from planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov

Mercury has many valleys known as vallis. These are very long rifts. Mercury has 4 Vallis.

Venus has many rifts and Lava Channels. Baltis Vallis is a Lava Channel on Venus. Venus has 72 Vallis.

Vallis (Valleys) on the moon can reach 600 kilometers in length and are formed from impacts. The Moon has 14 Vallis.

Martian valleys are called Vallis. Some Vallis on Mars have weird (Named after places, feelings, names, etc.) names like:

• Allegheny Vallis (Allegheny River)
• Athabasca Valles (Athabasca River)
• Columbia Vallis (Columbia River)
• Niger Vallis (Niger River)
• Mad Vallis (Mad River)

The largest canyon in the Solar System is called Vallis Marineris formed by Volcanoes known as the Tharsis Volcanoes. Mars has 138 Vallis.

Earth has millions of valley and canyons. Some were carved out by glaciers, others by Plates pulling apart. Most canyons were carved by water. Many valleys were carved by glaciers.

Ganymede has geologic Sulcus (plural Sulci). Ganymede has 32 Sulci.

Mimas has Chasma (Chasm)

Enceladus has many Sulci and Fossae. Fossae are ditches and/or trenches. Sulci are parallel trenches/groves.

Tethys has some Chasms. Ithaca Chasma (Bottom picture) is the longest Chasma on Tethys.

Dione has Chasms and Fossae. These are similar to canyons.

Rhea has chasms or Chasma.

Titan has Flumina, a channel that appears to be carved by a liquid.

Ariel has Vallis and Chasmas.

There are Chasma on Titania.

Oberon has Chasma

Miranda has Sulci.

Triton has Fossae and Sulci.