{{short description|Planitia on Mars}} {{Other uses|Eridania (disambiguation){{!}}Eridania}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}} {{Infobox feature on celestial object | name = Eridania Planitia | location = [[Eridania quadrangle]], [[Mars]] | coordinates = {{coord|38.15|S|122.21|E|globe:mars_type:landmark|display=inline,title}} |coordinates_footnotes = <ref name=gpn>{{gpn|14779|Eridania Planitia}} (Center Latitude: -38.15°, Center Longitude: 122.21°)</ref> | diameter = {{convert|1062.13|km|mi|abbr=on}} | type = Plains | eponym = Lands of [[Eridanos (river of Hades)|Eridanos]] }} '''Eridania Planitia''' is a plain located in the southern highlands of [[Mars]]. It borders the [[Hellas Planitia|Hellas basin]] to the west, [[Promethei Terra]] to the south, and the massive shield volcano [[Hesperia Planum]] to the north.<ref name="Kostama2017"/> The name "Eridania Planitia" was approved by the [[International Astronomical Union]] (IAU) on 22 September 2010; it is named after the closest [[Classical albedo features on Mars|classical albedo feature]].<ref name=gpn/>
== Characteristics == As with much of the Martian southern highlands, Eridania Planitia is ancient, with an estimated age of roughly 3.7–4 billion years old.<ref name="Bates2023"/> However, subregions within the plains are younger, with a large depression (informally named the "Morpheos basin") likely forming within a period spanning between 3.52 and 3.67 billion years ago.<ref name="Kostama2017"/> Additionally, Eridania Planitia is host to a concentration of [[expanded crater]]s, indicating an ice-rich subsurface.<ref name="Viola2018"/>
==References== {{Reflist |refs=
<ref name="Kostama2017">{{cite journal |last1=Kostama |first1=V. -P. |last2=Kukkonen |first2=S. |last3=Raitala |first3=J. |title=Resurfacing event observed in Morpheos basin (Eridania Planitia) and the implications to the formation and timing of Waikato and Reull Valles, Mars |date=June 2017 |journal=Planetary and Space Science |volume=140 |pages=35–48 |doi=10.1016/j.pss.2017.04.001 |bibcode=2017P&SS..140...35K }}</ref>
<ref name="Bates2023">{{cite journal |last1=Bates |first1=A. |last2=Goossens |first2=S. |last3=Lorenzo |first3=J. M. |last4=Ojha |first4=L. |last5=Hood |first5=D. R. |last6=Karunatillake |first6=S. |last7=Nawotniak |first7=S. K. |last8=Paladino |first8=T. |title=Supervolcanic resurfacing in northwestern Arabia Terra, Mars |date=January 2023 |journal=Icarus |volume=390 |article-number=115303 |doi=10.1016/j.icarus.2022.115303 |bibcode=2023Icar..39015303B }}</ref>
<ref name="Viola2018">{{cite journal |last1=Viola |first1=D. |last2=McEwan |first2=A. S. |title=Geomorphological Evidence for Shallow Ice in the Southern Hemisphere of Mars |date=9 January 2018 |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets |volume=123 |issue=1 |pages=262–277 |doi=10.1002/2017JE005366 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2018JGRE..123..262V |hdl=10150/627126 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
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== See also ==
* [[List of plains on Mars]] * [[Eridania Lake]] {{Commonscat|Eridania Planitia}} {{Geography of Mars}} {{mars-stub}}
[[Category:Plains on Mars]] [[Category:Eridania quadrangle]]