Chryse Chaos

In planetary nomenclature, the descriptor term chaos means "distinctive area of broken terrain". The general morphology of chaos is steep-sided mesas in close proximity. This VIS image shows a region of Chryse Chaos where the isolated mesas are beginning to be formed. The interconnected channel forms erode, and mesas are created by erosion of the bounding channels. The bottom of the image shows some of the resultant mesas.