# Ophir Chasma

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Canyon on Mars

Ophir Chasma Ophir Chasma based on THEMIS mosaic Coordinates 4°00′S 72°30′W / 4°S 72.5°W / -4; -72.5

Ophir Chasma in mosaic of [THEMIS](/source/Thermal_Emission_Imaging_System) infrared images, with part of [Candor Chasma](/source/Candor_Chasma) at bottom

**Ophir Chasma** [/ˈoʊfər ˈkæzmə/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English) is a canyon in the [Coprates quadrangle](/source/Coprates_quadrangle) of [Mars](/source/Mars) at 4° south latitude and 72.5° west longitude. It is about 317 km long and was named after [Ophir](/source/Ophir), a land mentioned in the Bible.[1][2] In the Bible it was the land which King Solomon sent an expedition that returned with gold.[3] It is a [classical albedo feature](/source/Classical_albedo_features_on_Mars) name.[1]

## Valles Marineris canyon system

Map of [Coprates quadrangle](/source/Coprates_quadrangle) showing details of [Valles Marineris](/source/Valles_Marineris), the largest canyon system in the [Solar System](/source/Solar_System).  Some of the canyons may have once been filled with water.

Ophir Chasma is part of the largest canyon system in the solar system; this great canyon would go almost all the way across the United States. The name for the whole system of canyons is Valles Marineris. Starting at the west with [Noctis Labyrinthus](/source/Noctis_Labyrinthus) in the [Phoenicis Lacus quadrangle](/source/Phoenicis_Lacus_quadrangle), the canyon system ends in the [Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle](/source/Margaritifer_Sinus_quadrangle) with Capri Chasma and [Eos Chasma](/source/Eos_Chasma) (in the south). The word *chasma* has been designated by the International Astronomical Union to refer to an elongate, steep-sided depression. Valles Marineris was discovered by and named for the [Mariner 9](/source/Mariner_9) mission. Moving east from Noctis Labyrinthus, the canyon splits into two parallel troughs, [Tithonium Chasma](/source/Tithonium_Chasma) to the North and [Ius Chasma](/source/Ius_Chasma) to the south. In the middle of the system are very wide valleys of Ophir Chasma (north), [Candor Chasma](/source/Candor_Chasma), and [Melas Chasma](/source/Melas_Chasma) (south). Going farther to the east, one comes to Coprates Chasma. At the end of Coprates Chasma, the valley gets wider to form Capri Chasma in the north and [Eos Chasma](/source/Eos_Chasma) in the south. The walls of the canyons often contain many layers. The floors of some of the canyons contain large deposits of layered materials. Some researchers believe that the layers were formed when water once filled the canyons. The canyons are deep as well as long. In places they are 8-10 kilometers deep. In comparison, Earth's [Grand Canyon](/source/Grand_Canyon) is 1.6 kilometers deep.[4]

## Layers

Ophir Chasma wall, as seen by [HiRISE](/source/HiRISE).

Images of rocks in the canyon walls almost always show layers. Some layers appear tougher than others. In the image below of Ganges Chasma Layers, as seen by HiRISE, one can see that the upper, light-toned deposits are eroding much faster than the lower darker layers. Some cliffs on Mars show a few darker layers standing out and often breaking into large pieces; these are thought to be hard volcanic rock instead of soft ash deposits. Because of its closeness to the Tharsis volcanic region, the rock layers may be made of layer after layer of [lava](/source/Lava) flows, probably mixed with deposits of volcanic ash that fell out of the air following big eruptions. It is likely the rock strata in the walls preserve a long geological history of Mars.[5] Dark layers may be due to dark lava flows. The dark volcanic rock [basalt](/source/Basalt) is common on Mars. However, light-toned deposits may have resulted from rivers, lakes, volcanic ash, or wind blown deposits of sand or dust.[6] The Mars Rovers found light-toned rocks to contain sulfates. Probably having been formed in water, sulfate deposits are of great interest to scientists because they may contain traces of ancient life.[7]

## Gallery

Synthetic oblique view of Ophir Chasma from Viking orbiter images.

On August 19, 2015, ISRO released the [3D portrayals](http://www.isro.gov.in/pslv-c25-mars-orbiter-mission/3d-portrayals-of-ophir-chasma-terrain) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150818090527/http://www.isro.gov.in/pslv-c25-mars-orbiter-mission/3d-portrayals-of-ophir-chasma-terrain) 2015-08-18 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) of Ophir Chasma taken by Mars Orbiter Mission.

## See also

- [Chasma](/source/Chasma)

- [Climate on Mars](/source/Climate_on_Mars)

- [Geology of Mars](/source/Geology_of_Mars)

- [HiRISE](/source/HiRISE)

- [Tectonics of Mars](/source/Tectonics_of_Mars)

## References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Ophir Chasma](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Ophir_Chasma).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-gpn_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-gpn_1-1) ["Ophir Chasma"](https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/4476). *Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature*. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Ophir"](https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/4473). *Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature*. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Blunck, J. 1982. Mars and its Satellites. Exposition Press. Smithtown, N.Y.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Kieffer, Hugh H. (October 1992). *Mars: Maps*. University of Arizona Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-8165-1257-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8165-1257-4).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Landslides and Debris in Coprates Chasma | Mars Odyssey Mission THEMIS"](http://themis.asu.edu/features/coprateschasma).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["HiRISE | Light-toned Layers in Eos Chaos (PSP_005385_1640)"](http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/PSP_005385_1640).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [http://hirise,lpl.arizona.edu/PSP_007430_1725](http://hirise,lpl.arizona.edu/PSP_007430_1725)[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

## External links

- [NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: Candor and Ophir Chasmatai (13 February 2003)](https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030213.html)

- [NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: Melas, Candor and Ophir: Valleys of Mariner (17 February 2005)](https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050217.html)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ophir Chasma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophir_Chasma) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophir_Chasma?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.