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| Coordinates | 21°06′N237°30′W / 21.1°N 237.5°W /21.1; -237.5 |
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| Naming | a classical albedo feature name |
TheHephaestus Fossae are a system of troughs and channels in theAmenthes quadrangle of Mars, with a location centered at 21.1 N and 237.5 W. They are 604 km long and were named after a classical albedo feature name.[1] The fossae have been tentatively identified asoutflow channels, but their origin and evolution remain ambiguous.[2] It has been proposed that water may have been released into the troughs as a catastrophic flood due to subsurface ice melting following a largebolide impact.[3]
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