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Nirgal Vallis
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Nirgal Vallis gullies on Mars Perspective view of Nirgal Vallis, based on observations made by the Mars Global Surveyor. The sides of the canyon display features similar to runoff channels, and thus may indicate the presence of surface water in Mars's past. topographic map of Mars
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Nirgal Vallis gullies on Mars
Nirgal Vallis gullies on Mars Gullies along the south-facing wall of the Martian valley Nirgal Vallis, in an image taken July 12, 1999, from the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. The kilometre-long channels, which appear to have been cut by liquid that emerged near the top of the wall, have been cited by some scientists as evidence for the flow of water on Mars in geologically recent times, but the interpretation is controversial.

Nirgal Vallis

feature, Mars
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Also known as: Mare Erythraeum
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Nirgal Vallis, sinuous, branching valley located on the planet Mars north of the Argyre impact basin, at about 28° S, 42° W. It is about 400 km (250 miles) long and about 5 km (3 miles) wide. Its name derives from the Babylonian word for Mars. First seen in Mariner 9 spacecraft images, the valley has numerous tributaries and appears to have been cut by slow erosion of running water. The source of the water, whether from rainfall, snowfall, or groundwater seepage, is controversial. Also contentious is the origin of gullies on the valley’s steep walls that were photographed by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. Some scientists have proposed that they are the result of recent groundwater seepage; others have suggested that they were created by flows of dry or gas-lubricated debris.