# Inverted relief > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Inverted_relief > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Inverted_relief.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_relief > Source revision: 1245234083 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Landscape features that have reversed their elevation relative to other features Not to be confused with [inversion or basin inversion](/source/Inversion_(geology)) in structural geology. Inverted relief at former [St. George Municipal Airport](/source/St._George_Municipal_Airport), Utah. The lava plateau upon which the airport was built once filled the bottom of a valley. Inverted channels on Mars. These curved and crisscrossing ridges in the [Aeolis](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aeolis_(Mars)&action=edit&redlink=1) region were once channels in a [sediment fan](/source/Outwash_fan). The channels were more resistant to wind erosion than the surrounding materials, so now they are left standing as ridges rather than valleys. Illumination is from the left. **Inverted relief**, **inverted topography**, or **topographic inversion** refers to landscape features that have reversed their elevation relative to other features. It most often occurs when low areas of a landscape become filled with [lava](/source/Lava) or [sediment](/source/Sediment) that hardens into material that is more resistant to [erosion](/source/Erosion) than the material that surrounds it. *Differential erosion* then removes the less resistant surrounding material, leaving behind the younger resistant material, which may then appear as a [ridge](/source/Ridge) where previously there was a valley. Terms such as "inverted valley" or "inverted channel" are used to describe such features.[1] Inverted relief has been observed on the surfaces of other planets as well as on Earth. For example, well-documented inverted topographies have been discovered on [Mars](/source/Mars).[2] ## Formation Several processes can cause the floor of a depression to become more resistant to erosion than its surrounding slopes and uplands: - First, coarse-grained sediment, such as [gravel](/source/Gravel), accumulates in the depression, i.e., a stream valley or lake basin. Next, wind [erosion](/source/Erosion) removes fine-grained sediments in areas adjacent to the depression. This leaves behind the more resistant coarse-grained sediments as a hill or ridge, while the channel switches to a lower lying area. - A [fluvial](/source/Fluvial) valley might fill with volcanic material such as [lava](/source/Lava) or [welded tuff](/source/Tuff#Welded_tuff) pouring into it. This would resist erosion while the surrounding surface is eroded away to create a ridge. - [Cementation](/source/Cementation_(geology)) of underlying sediments by [minerals](/source/Mineral) dissolved in water may occur in a depression. On Earth, this often happens in stream valleys as the result of the formation of [duricrusts](/source/Duricrust), i.e., [silcrete](/source/Silcrete) or [ferricrete](/source/Ferricrete), by [pedogenesis](/source/Pedogenesis). Minerals for cementation can come from groundwater. It is thought that a low point like a valley focuses groundflow, so more water and cements move into it, and this results in a greater degree of cementation.[3] Again, the cemented sediments would resist erosion while the surrounding terrain is eroded away to create a ridge or hill.[1][2] - Erosion of the resistant upper strata of the [anticlines](/source/Anticline) of a folded region, exposing less resistant underlying strata, which then erode relatively rapidly leaving the [syncline](/source/Syncline) as the top of a mesa or ridge.[4] ## An example A classic example of inverted relief is [Table Mountain, Tuolumne County, California](/source/Table_Mountain_(Tuolumne_County%2C_California)). Multiple lava flows filled an ancient [fluvial](/source/Fluvial) valley that cut westward through the central Sierra Nevada range to the Central Valley about 10.5 million years ago. These [Miocene](/source/Miocene) lava flows filled this ancient river valley with a thick sequence of potassium-rich [trachyandesite](/source/Trachyandesite) lavas that are significantly more resistant to erosion than the [Mesozoic](/source/Mesozoic) [siltstone](/source/Siltstone) and other rock in which the valley was cut. Thus, subsequent differential erosion left these volcanic rocks as a sinuous ridge, which now stands well above landscape underlain by more deeply eroded Mesozoic rocks.[5] Possible evolution of the Cape Town landscape: The nearly horizontal Table Mountain sandstones represent the trough and the steeply dipping sandstones of the same formations of the Hottentots Holland Mountains to the east the limb of a large fold that has since eroded away to expose the underlying shale. Thus the modern landscape may represent an inverted version of an earlier landscape (dashed lines) characterised by a large mountain where the Cape Flats are now. (after Compton 2004) Another example is [Table Mountain](/source/Table_Mountain), [Cape Town](/source/Cape_Town), where the original high ridges of resistant quartzitic sandstone of the [Cape Fold Belt](/source/Cape_Fold_Belt) were eroded away first, exposing less resistant rock, which eroded faster, leaving the original valley bottom at the top of the residual mountain.[4] ## On Mars Inverted relief in the form of sinuous and meandering ridges, which are indicative of ancient, inverted fluvial channels, is argued to be evidence of water channels on the Martian surface in the past.[6][7][8][2][9][10] An example is [Miyamoto Crater](/source/Miyamoto_(crater)), which was proposed in 2010 as a potential location to be searched for evidence of life on Mars.[11] Other examples are shown in the photographs below. ### Inverted terrain in Aeolis quadrangle - Inverted channels in Aleolis Planum Inverted channels may have formed when the area was buried and then later eroded. The former channels then appear above the surface because they are more resistant to erosion. Perhaps they accumulated larger rocks then the surroundings. - Close view of inverted channels. Note that some are flat on top. - [CTX](/source/Mars_Reconnaissance_Orbiter#CTX_.28camera.29) image of craters in [Aeolis quadrangle](/source/Aeolis_quadrangle) with black box in the large crater at lower right showing location of next image. - Image from previous photo of a curved ridge that may be an old stream that has become inverted. Illumination is from the NW. Image taken with HiRISE under the HiWish program. - Meandering Ridges that are probably inverted stream channels. Illumination is from the NW. Image taken with [HiRISE](/source/HiRISE). - Sinuous Ridges within a branching fan in lower member of Medusae Fossae Formation,[12] as seen by HiRISE. Illumination is from the NW. ### Inverted terrain in Syrtis Major quadrangle - Inverted Streams near Juventae Chasma, [Syrtis Major quadrangle](/source/Syrtis_Major_quadrangle), as seen by [Mars Global Surveyor](/source/Mars_Global_Surveyor). These streams begin at the top of a ridge then run together. - Inverted Channels near [Juventae Chasma](/source/Juventae_Chasma), as seen by [HiRISE](/source/HiRISE). Channels were once regular stream channels. Image in [Coprates quadrangle](/source/Coprates_quadrangle). Scale bar is 500 meters long. - Inverted Channel with many branches in [Syrtis Major quadrangle](/source/Syrtis_Major_quadrangle). - Inverted Stream Channels in [Antoniadi Crater](/source/Antoniadi_(Martian_crater)), as seen by [HiRISE](/source/HiRISE). ### Inverted terrain in Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle - Inverted Channel in Miyamoto Crater, [Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle](/source/Margaritifer_Sinus_quadrangle), as seen by [HiRISE](/source/HiRISE). Illumination is from the NW. The scale bar is 500 meters long. - CTX context image for next image that was taken with HiRISE. Note long ridge going across image is probably an old stream. Box indicates area for HiRISE image. - Example of inverted terrain in Parana Valles region, as seen by HiRISE under the HiWish program. Illumination is from the NW. ### Inverted terrain in Amazonis quadrangle - Possible inverted stream channels, [Amazonis quadrangle](/source/Amazonis_quadrangle), as seen by HiRISE under [HiWish program](/source/HiWish_program). The ridges were probably once stream valleys that have become full of sediment and cemented. So, they became hardened against erosion which removed surrounding material. Illumination is from the left (west). ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-PainOthers1995a_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-PainOthers1995a_1-1) Pain, C.F., and C.D. Ollier, 1995, *Inversion of relief - a component of landscape evolution.* Geomorphology. 12(2):151-165. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-PainOthers2007a_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-PainOthers2007a_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-PainOthers2007a_2-2) Pain, C.F., J.D.A. Clarke, and M. Thomas, 2007, *Inversion of relief on Mars.* Icarus. 190(2):478–491. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** J. C. Andrews‐Hanna, R. J. Phillips, and M. T. Zuber (2007), Meridiani Planum and the global hydrology of Mars, Nature, 446, 163–166, [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1038/nature05594](https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fnature05594). 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Compton_2004_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Compton_2004_4-1) Compton, John S. (2004). *The Rocks & Mountains of Cape Town*. Cape Town: Double Story. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-919930-70-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-919930-70-1). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Gornya2009a_5-0)** Gornya, C., C. Busbya, C.J. Pluhar, J. Hagana and K. Putirkab, 2009, *An in-depth look at distal Sierra Nevada palaeochannel fill: drill cores through the Table Mountain Latite near Knights Ferry.* International Geology Review. 51(9–11):824–842. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["HiRISE | HiPOD: 29 Jul 2023"](https://www.uahirise.org/hipod/PSP_002424_1765). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Fossilized Rivers Suggest Mars Was Once Warm and Wet - SpaceRef"](http://spaceref.com/mars/fossilized-rivers-suggest-mars-was-once-warm-and-wet.html).[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*] 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Davis, J., M. Balme, P. Grindrod, R. Williams, S. Gupta. 2016. Extensive Noachian Fluvial Systems in Arabia Terra: Implications for Early Martian Climate. Geology [\[1\]](http://geology.gsapubs.org/content/early/2016/08/23/G38247.1.abstract). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-HiRISE2010a_9-0)** HiRISE, 2010a, [*Inverted Channels North of Juventae Chasma (PSP_006770_1760).*](http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/PSP_006770_1760) Operations Center, Department of Planetary Sciences, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Tucson, Arizona. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-WillaimsOthers2007a_10-0)** Williams, R.M.E., T.C. Chidsey, Jr., and D.E. Eby, D.E., 2007, *Exhumed paleochannels in central Utah - analogs for raised curvilinear features on Mars*, in G.C. Willis M.D. Hylland, D.L. Clark, and T.C. Chidsey, Jr., eds., pp. 220-235, Central Utah - diverse geology of a dynamic landscape. Publication 36, Utah Geological Association, Salt Lake City, Utah. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Newson2010a_11-0)** Newsom, H.E., N.L. Lanza, A.M. Ollila, S.M. Wiseman, T.L. Roush, G.A. Marzo, L.L. Tornabene, C.H. Okubo, M.M. Osterloo, V.E. Hamilton, and L.S. Crumpler, 2010, *Inverted channel deposits on the floor of Miyamoto crater, Mars.* Icarus. 205(1):64-72. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Grotzinger, J. and R. Milliken (eds.) 2012. Sedimentary Geology of Mars. SEPM ## See also [Exhumed river channel](/source/Exhumed_river_channel) ## External links - [Everything2.com: Topographic Inversion](http://everything2.com/e2node/Topographic%2520inversion) - [MarsToday.com: Inverted Topography of Huo Hsing Vallis](https://archive.today/20130128192059/http://www.marstoday.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=5648) - [MarsToday.com: NASA Mars Picture of the Day: Inverted channels](https://archive.today/20130128111546/http://www.marstoday.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=21125) - [NASA: Inverted Topography, Patagonia, Argentina](https://web.archive.org/web/20111025223813/http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?id=651) - [Utah Geological Survey: Inverted Topography in the St. George Area of Washington County](http://geology.utah.gov/surveynotes/geosights/invertedtopo.htm) - [California State University Department of Geological Sciences: View of table mountain on eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada](https://web.archive.org/web/20080920225724/http://seis.natsci.csulb.edu/deptweb/SkinnyCalSites/bigpictext/TableMtn.html) v t e Geography and geology of Mars Cartography Regions Abalos Undae Aspledon Undae Arabia Terra Cerberus Cydonia Eridania Lake Hyperboreae Undae Ogygis Undae Olympia Undae Planum Australe Planum Boreum Quadrangles Sinus Meridiani Siton Undae Tempe Terra Terra Cimmeria Terra Sabaea Tharsis Vastitas Borealis Quadrangles Aeolis Amazonis Amenthes Arabia Arcadia Argyre Casius Cebrenia Coprates Diacria Elysium Eridania Hellas Iapygia Ismenius Lacus Lunae Palus Mare Acidalium Mare Australe (South Pole) Mare Boreum (North Pole) Mare Tyrrhenum Margaritifer Sinus Memnonia Noachis Oxia Palus Phaethontis Phoenicis Lacus Sinus Sabaeus Syrtis Major Tharsis Thaumasia Geology Surface features Brain terrain Carbonates Chaos terrain Color Composition Concentric crater fill Dark slope streak Dichotomy Dune fields Hagal Nili Patera Fretted terrain Geysers Glaciers Groundwater Gullies Inverted relief Lakes Lava tubes Lineated valley fill (LVF) Lobate debris apron North Polar Basin Ocean hypothesis Ore resources Outflow channels Polar caps Ring mold craters Rootless cones Scalloped topography Seasonal flows Soil Spherules Surface Swiss cheese features Terrain softening Tholus Upper plains unit Valley networks Water discovery chronology Yardangs History Amazonian Hesperian Noachian Volcanology Observation history Canals (list) Classical albedo features Rocks observed Curiosity rover Bathurst Inlet Coronation Goulburn Hottah Jake Matijevic Link Rocknest Rocknest 3 Tintina Opportunity rover Bounce El Capitan Last Chance Sojourner rover Barnacle Bill Yogi Spirit rover Adirondack Home Plate Mimi Pot of Gold Viking Big Joe Other Face Monolith Meteorites found on Mars Block Island Heat Shield Mackinac Island Meridiani Planum Oileán Ruaidh Shelter Island Martian meteorites found on Earth Balsaltic Breccia Chassignites Nakhlites Shergottites Other List Topography Mountains, volcanoes (list by height) Acidalia Colles Alba Mons Anseris Mons Apollinaris Mons Ariadnes Colles Astapus Colles Ausonia Montes Avernus Colles Biblis Tholus Centauri Montes Charitum Montes Echus Montes Elysium Elysium Mons Albor Tholus Hecates Tholus Erebus Montes Galaxius Mons Hadriacus Mons Hellas Montes Jovis Tholus Libya Montes Mount Sharp Nereidum Montes Olympus Mons Phlegra Montes Syrtis Major Planum Tartarus Colles Tartarus Montes Tharsis Montes Ascraeus Pavonis Arsia Tharsis Tholus Tyrrhenus Mons Ulysses Tholus Uranius group Uranius Mons Ceraunius Tholus Uranius Tholus Plains, plateaus Acidalia Planitia Aeolis Palus Amazonis Planitia Arcadia Planitia Argentea Planum Argyre Planitia Chryse Planitia Daedalia Planum Elysium Planitia Eridania Planitia Hellas Planitia Hesperia Planum Icaria Planum Isidis Planitia Lunae Planum Meridiani Planum Oxia Planum Planum Australe Planum Boreum Syria Planum Syrtis Major Planum Utopia Planitia Eden Patera Orcus Patera Peneus Patera Pityusa Patera Siloe Patera Canyons, valleys Aram Chaos Arsia Chasmata Aromatum Chaos Atlantis Chaos Aureum Chaos Candor Chasma Chasma Boreale Coprates Chasma Echus Chasma Eos Chaos Eos Chasma Galaxias Chaos Ganges Chasma Gorgonum Chaos Hebes Chasma Hydaspis Chaos Hydraotes Chaos Iani Chaos Ister Chaos Ius Chasma Juventae Chasma Melas Chasma Ophir Chasma Tithonium Chasma List of valles Apsus Ares Arnus Asopus Athabasca Auqakuh Bahram Buvinda Dao Enipeus Frento Granicus Green Valley Harmakhis Hebrus Her Desher Hrad Huo Hsing Hypanis Iberus Indus Ituxi Kasei Labou Ladon Lethe Licus Louros Maʼadim Mad Maja Mamers Mangala Marineris Labes Marte Maumee Mawrth Minio Naktong Nanedi Niger Nirgal Padus Paraná Patapsco Peace Rahway Ravi Reull Sabis Sabrina Samara Scamander Shalbatana Simud Stura Tader Tinia Tinjar Tiu Tyras Uzboi ULM Vedra Verde Warrego Fossae, mensae, rupes, labyrinthi Amenthes Fossae Ceraunius Fossae Cerberus Fossae Coloe Fossae Cyane Fossae Elysium Fossae Hephaestus Fossae Icaria Fossae Labeatis Fossae Mangala Fossa Mareotis Fossae Medusae Fossae Memnonia Fossae Nili Fossae Olympica Fossae Oti Fossae Sirenum Fossae Tantalus Fossae Tempe Fossae Tithonium Fossae Tractus Fossae Ulysses Fossae Aeolis Mensae Ausonia Mensa Capri Mensa Cydonia Mensae Deuteronilus Mensae Ganges Mensa Nilosyrtis Mensae Protonilus Mensae Sacra Mensa Claritas Rupes Nilokeras Scopulus Olympus Rupes Rupes Tenuis Angustus Labyrinthus Noctis Labyrinthus Catenae, craters Artynia Catena Tithoniae Catenae Tractus Catena Adams Agassiz Airy Airy-0 Aniak Antoniadi Arandas Argo Arkhangelsky Arrhenius Asimov Bacolor Bakhuysen Baldet Baltisk Bamberg Barabashov Barnard Beagle Becquerel Beer Belz Bernard Bianchini Boeddicker Bok Bond Bonestell Bonneville Brashear Briault Burroughs Burton Campbell Canso Cassini Caxias Cerulli Chafe Chapais Chincoteague Chryse Alien Clark Coblentz Columbus Copernicus Corby Crewe Crivitz Crommelin Cruls Curie Da Vinci Danielson Darwin Davies Dawes Dejnev Denning Dilly Dinorwic Douglass Dromore Du Martheray Eagle (Acidalia Planitia) Eagle (Meridiani Planum) Eberswalde Eddie Ejriksson Emma Dean Endeavour Matijevic Hill Endurance Erebus Escalante Eudoxus Fenagh Fesenkov Firsoff Flammarion Flaugergues Focas Fontana Fournier Fram Freedom Galdakao Gale Galle Garni Gasa Gilbert Gill Gledhill Gold Graff Green Grindavik Gusev Apollo 1 Hills Chaffee Grissom White Columbia Hills Husband McCool Sleepy Hollow Hadley Haldane Hale Halley Hargraves Hartwig Heaviside Heimdal Heinlein Helmholtz Henry Herschel Hipparchus Holden Holmes Hooke Huggins Hussey Hutton Huxley Huygens Iazu Ibragimov Inuvik Janssen Jarry-Desloges Jeans Jezero Jezža Joly Jones Kaiser Keeler Kepler Kinkora Kipini Knobel Koga Korolev Kufra Kuiper Kunowsky Lambert Lamont Lampland Lassell Lau Le Verrier Li Fan Liais Lipik Liu Hsin Llanesco Lockyer Lod Lohse Lomonosov Louth Lowell Lyell Lyot Mädler Magelhaens Maggini Main Mandora Maraldi Mariner Marth Martz Masursky Maunder McLaughlin McMurdo Mellish Mendel Mie Milankovic Millochau Mitchel Miyamoto Mohawk Mojave Molesworth Montevallo Moreux Müller Nansen Nereus Newton Nhill Nicholson Niesten Nipigon Onon Orson Welles Oudemans Palana Pangboche Pasteur Penticton Perepelkin Peridier Persbo Pettit Phillips Pickering Playfair Pollack Poona Porter Porth Priestley Proctor Ptolemaeus Puńsk Quenisset Rabe Radau Rahe Rayleigh Redi Renaudot Reuyl Reynolds Richardson Ritchey Robert Sharp Roddenberry Ross Rossby Rudaux Russell Rutherford Sagan Saheki Santa Maria Schaeberle Schiaparelli Schmidt Secchi Semeykin Sharonov Sibu Sinton Sitka Sklodowska Slipher Smith South Spallanzani Srīpur Steno Stokes Stoney Suess Suzhi Tarsus Taytay Teisserenc de Bort Terby Thila Thira Tikhonravov Tikhov Timbuktu Tombaugh Tooting Trouvelot Troy Trud Trumpler Tugaske Tycho Brahe Tyndall Udzha Vernal Very Victoria Cape Verde Vinogradov Vinogradsky Virrat Vishniac Vogel Von Kármán Vostok Wallace Wegener Weinbaum Wells Williams Winslow Wirtz Wislicenus Wright Yuty Zumba Zunil --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Inverted relief](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_relief) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_relief?action=history)). 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