North Polar Basin (Mars)

Not to be confused with Vastitas Borealis.
"Borealis Basin" redirects here. Not to be confused with Arctic Basin.
Borealis Basin
The Borealis Basin is the large blue and green region lying north of the equator. Volcanic eruptions on the Tharsis bulge, the higher elevation region on the left of the image, covered over parts of the basin after its formation.
LocationNorthern Hemisphere, Mars
Coordinates67°N 208°E / 67°N 208°E / 67; 208

The North Polar Basin, more commonly known as the Borealis Basin, is a large basin in the northern hemisphere of Mars that covers 40% of the planet.[1][2] Some scientists have postulated that the basin formed during the impact of a single, large body roughly 2% of the mass of Mars, having a diameter of about 1,900 km (1,200 miles) early in the history of Mars, around 4.5 billion years ago.[1][3] However, the basin is not currently recognized as an impact basin by the IAU. The basin is one of the flattest areas in the Solar System, and has an elliptical shape.[1][2]

  1. ^ a b c "NASA - NASA Spacecraft Reveal Largest Crater in Solar System". www.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2017-04-06.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).