Hellas

Hellas impact basin on MarsHellas impact basin on Mars, shown in a topographic map (bottom) and an averaged elevation profile (top) produced from altimetry data collected by Mars Global Surveyor through early 1999. In the map, north is up and the south pole lies at the bottom center; the black lines highlight contours of zero elevation. In both images altitude is color-coded according to the accompanying key.

Hellas, enormous impact basin in the southern hemisphere of Mars and the planet’s largest recognizable impact feature. Centred at roughly 40° S, 290° W, Hellas measures about 7,000 km (4,400 miles) across, including the broad elevated ring surrounding the depression, and 8 km (5 miles) deep. Its floor, covered with partly eroded sediments, is the lowest place on Mars. The basin was probably created by collision with an asteroid very early in Mars’s history, not long after the planet formed.

Citation Information
Article Title: Hellas
Website Name: Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Date Published: 21 January 2020
Access Date: March 14, 2025