Mars Student Imaging Program

The Three Principles

Impact Craters

Features you must know and understand.

Ejecta – Material, from the crater, that was thrown high into the air and landed outside the crater in a blanket.

Mars Student Imaging Program

The Three Principles

Impact Craters

Features you must know and understand.

Rim – The raised area around the edge of the crater.

Peak – An impact violent enough to melt the rock which formed a central uplift.

Mars Student Imaging Program

The Three Principles

Impact Craters

Features you must know and understand.

Walls – The crater slope down to the floor.Floor – The bottom of the crater; it usually is flat.

Mars Student Imaging Program

The Three PrinciplesFeatures you must know and understand.

Ejecta

PeakRim

Floo

rWall

Impact Craters

Mars Student Imaging Program

The Three PrinciplesFeatures you must know and understand.Volcanoes

Lava – Hot, molten rock.

Vent – Crack(s) in the planet’s crust.

Mars Student Imaging Program

The Three PrinciplesFeatures you must know and understand.Volcanoes

Caldera – A roughly circular depression found at the top of the volcano.

Mars Student Imaging Program

The Three PrinciplesFeatures you must know and understand.Volcanoes

Shield – Domes much wider than they are high (shaped like a shield) and have very low slopes.

Mars Student Imaging Program

The Three PrinciplesFeatures you must know and understand.Volcanoes

Shield

Mars Student Imaging Program

The Three PrinciplesFeatures you must know and understand.Stratification – Layers of rock that are laid on top of the previous layer.

Mars Student Imaging Program

The Three PrinciplesFeatures you must know and understand.River Beds – Long, snake-like formations that resemble dry river beds similar to those found on Earth.

Mars Student Imaging Program

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The Principle of Superposition

Strata located at the bottom of an undisturbed stack of rocks are older than the layers at the top of the stack.

Mars Student Imaging Program

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The Principle of Cross-Cutting RelationshipsRocks or geological features such as canyons, rivers, or cracks in rocks, may be cut by other rocks or by other geological features.

Mars Student Imaging Program

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The Principle of Cross-Cutting Relationships

Mars Student Imaging Program

The Three PrinciplesThe Three Principles

The Principle of Cross-Cutting RelationshipsThe rocks are the oldest feature, followed by the river, and then the canyon “cut” by the river.

Mars Student Imaging Program

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The Principle of Horizontal Bedding

Rocks that are deposited by water, such aslimestone, or rocks that are deposited by wind, such as sandstone, are deposited in nearly horizontal layers.

Mars Student Imaging Program

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The Principle of Horizontal Bedding

If the layers are no longer horizontal, they must have been bent or folded after they were originally laid down.

Mars Student Imaging Program

The Three PrinciplesThe Three Principles

The presentation ends here.