 Dao Vallis is the leftmost channel, joined just above the center of the image byNiger Vallis. In each valley water flowed toward the bottom of the image. The caldera ofHadriacus Mons is at upper left. | |
| Coordinates | 38°42′S272°06′W / 38.7°S 272.1°W /-38.7; -272.1 |
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| Length | 816.0 km |
| Naming | Word for "star" in Thai |
Dao Vallis is a valley onMars that appears to have been carved by water. It runs southwestward intoHellas Planitia from the southern slopes of the volcanoHadriacus Mons, and has been identified as anoutflow channel.[1] It and itstributary,Niger Vallis, extend for about 1,200 km (750 mi).[2]
It is named after theThai word forstar, and it was proposed as a potential landing site for the 2012Curiosity rover of theMars Science Laboratory mission.[3] In the fictional 2007 Canadian miniseriesRace to Mars, it is the landing site forGagarin, the lander.
Dao Vallis begins near a large volcano, Hadriacus Mons, so it is thought to have received water when hot magma melted huge amounts of ice in the frozen ground. Much of this water may have been released in very large "outburst floods". The partially circular depressions on the left side of the channel in the image below suggests that groundwater sapping also contributed water more gradually.[4]
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