Fossa (geology)

Fossa (geology)

Fossa is a term used in planetary geology to describe a long, narrow, shallow depression on the body of an extraterrestrial body, such as a planet or moon. The term, which means "ditch" or "trench" in Latin, is not a geological term as such but is used in the naming of particular features, such as the Cerberus Fossae on Mars.

Fossae are believed to be the result of a number of geological processes, such as faulting, subsidence or floods of water or some other viscous liquid.

External resources

* [http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/mars/marsfoss.html Fossae on Mars]
* [http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/venus/venufoss.html Fossae on Venus]
* [http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/moon/moonfoss.html Fossae on the Moon]
* [http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/saturn/encefoss.html Fossae on Enceladus]
* [http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/jupiter/ganyfoss.html Fossae on Ganymede]


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