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To: Bernard Marx
It's a subsidence sinkhole of some kind.

I believe there a number of these holes on Mars, and the caverns are essentially lava tubes. Here, it looks like the date of the initial collapse is recorded by the secondary rim, formed by additional accumulation after the collapse, although I couldn't explain the exact mechanism. I think there is a lot of crusty material on Mars formed from compacted windblown dust.

30 posted on 07/22/2012 4:53:52 PM PDT by dr_lew
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To: dr_lew

Yes, a lava tube is a logical cause in this case. The shape simply reminded me of nuclear test sinkholes. The fact that the Mars hole still opens to a cavern is interesting though. It suggests there wasn’t enough surface material in the initial collapse to fill the space beneath it, so if it’s a lava tube it’s a big one!


32 posted on 07/22/2012 5:13:29 PM PDT by Bernard Marx
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