Virrat (crater)

MarsGeo-Crater


caption=The crater Virrat and its surroundings, in a screenshot in NASA World Wind.
name=Virrat
diameter=54 km
latitude=31.1
N_or_S=S
longitude=103
E_or_W=W
eponym=Virrat, Sweden or Virrat, Finland
depth=1.3 km

Virrat is a Martian impact crater, approximately 54 kilometers in diameter. It is located at 31.1°S, 103°W, southwest of the crater Dinorwic and northeast of Clantas Fossae. Several Virrat crater radii to the north are the craters Koga and Nhill. It is named after a town in Sweden [There appears to be no such town as Virrat, Sweden, although there does exist a Virrat, Finland, and it is possible the IAU could have made a mistake when naming the crater.] , and its name was approved by the International Astronomical Union in 1991. [cite web
title=USGS Astro: Planetary Nomenclature: Feature Data Search Results | work=USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature Feature Information
url=http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/jsp/FeatureNameDetail.jsp?feature=66574
accessdate=October 22
accessyear=2007] "NASA World Wind" 1.4. NASA Ames Research Center, 2007.] According to a surface age map of Mars based on US Geological Survey data, the area around Virrat is from the Noachian epoch, which places the area's age at 3.8 to 3.5 billion years ago. [cite web
title=INTEGRATING GLOBAL-SCALE MISSION DATASETS – UNDERSTANDING THE MARTIAN CRUST. | work=lpi.usra.edu
url=http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2005/pdf/1853.pdf
accessdate=October 22
accessyear=2007] At the highest point on its rim, it is about 6,400 meters above zero altitude, and it is about 5,100 meters at the crater bottom, giving it a depth of 1.3 kilometers.

References