{{Short description|Martian landscape feature}} {{Infobox feature on celestial object |name = Hephaestus Fossae |image = [[Image:Hephaestus Fossae Two Vews.JPG|200px]] |caption = Two views of the Hephaestus Fossae, as seen by [[HiRISE]]. Picture on right lies to the top (north) of other picture. [[Fossa (geology)|Fossae]] often form by material moving into an underground void. |coordinates = {{coord|21.1|N|237.5|W|globe:mars_type:landmark|display=inline,title}} |naming = a classical albedo feature name }} The '''Hephaestus Fossae''' are a system of troughs and channels in the [[Amenthes quadrangle]] of Mars, with a location centered at 21.1 N and 237.5 W. They are 604&nbsp;km long and were named after a classical albedo feature name.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov |title=Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature |website=[[Astrogeology Research Program]] |publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]] |access-date=20 March 2022}}</ref> The fossae have been tentatively identified as [[outflow channels]], but their origin and evolution remain ambiguous.<ref>Carr, M.H. (2006), The Surface of Mars. Cambridge Planetary Science Series, Cambridge University Press.</ref> It has been proposed that water may have been released into the troughs as a catastrophic flood due to subsurface ice melting following a large [[Meteoroid#Geology|bolide]] impact.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMSKCVTGVF_index_0.html|title = Craters and channels in Hephaestus Fossae}}</ref>

== References == {{reflist}}

==See also==

* [[Fossa (geology)]] * [[Geology of Mars]] * [[HiRISE]]

{{Geography of Mars}} {{Portal bar|Solar System}}

[[Category:Amenthes quadrangle]] [[Category:Valleys and canyons on Mars]]

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