 Aram Chaos is the circular depression in the top left. Iani Chaos is in the bottom right. | |
| Location | Mars |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 2°36′N 21°30′W / 2.6°N 21.5°W |
| Diameter | 280 kilometers (170 mi) |
| Depth | 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) |
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Aram Chaos, centered at 2.6°N, 21.5°W, is a heavily eroded impact crater on Mars. It lies at the eastern end of the large canyon Valles Marineris and close to Ares Vallis. Various geological processes have reduced it to a circular area of chaotic terrain. Aram Chaos takes its name from Aram, one of the classical albedo features observed by Giovanni Schiaparelli, who named it after the Biblical land of Aram. Spectroscopic observation from orbit indicates the presence of the mineral hematite, likely a signature of a once aqueous environment.