 A view of the southern hemisphere of Venus. V-56 Quadrangle bordered by the black dashed lines. The Quetzalpetlatl Corona is outlined in red and the inner Boala Corona in yellow. Background image provided by NASA/JPL. | |
| Feature type | Highland |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 60°S 20°E / 60°S 20°E |
| Diameter | 8,615 km |
| Eponym | Lada |
Lada Terra, named for a Slavic goddess of Love, [1] is a major landmass near the south pole of Venus which is centered at 60°S and 20°E and has a diameter of 8,615 kilometres (5,353 mi).[2] It is defined by the International Astronomical Union as one of the three "major landmasses," or terrae, of Venus.[2] The term "landmass" is not analogous to the landmass on Earth, as there are no apparent oceans on Venus. The term here applies to a substantial portion of land that lies above the average planetary radius, and corresponds to highlands.
The broad region of Lada Terra contains massive coronae, rift zones, and volcanic plains as well as many other features that scientists use to attempt to piece together the history of this complex planet. The distinctive cross-cutting relationships found in the bedding of Lada Terra have been important in realizing relative ages of the extensional belts and coronae, as well as the complex tesserae features present planet-wide.[3]
In 1990 the Venus Radar Mapper revealed the largest outflow channel system on the planet located in the northern region of Lada Terra.[4] Although Lada Terra is generally considered a highland of Venus, the topography is much lower-lying than its northern counterparts Ishtar Terra and Aphrodite Terra.
Lada Terra is named after Lada, the Slavic goddess of love.
- ^ Murdin, Paul (2001). Encyclopedia of Astronomy and Astrophysics. Bristol: Institute of Physics Publishing.
- ^ a b "Planetary Names: Terra, terrae: Lada Terra on Venus". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature: Venus. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ Kumar, Senthil; Head, James W. "Geologic Map of the Lada Terra Quadrangle (V–56), Venus" (PDF). USGS.gov. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ Head, J.; Parker, T.; Komatsu, G.; Baker, V.; Gulick, V.; Saunders, R.; Weitz, C. (1991). "An Outflow Channel in Lada Terra, Venus". Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. 22: 1035. Bibcode:1991LPI....22.1035P.