What is the name of the canyon system on Mars over 4,000 km long?

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The canyon system on Mars over 4,000 km long is Valles Marineris. It runs mostly east–west near Mars's equator, east of the Tharsis volcanic region, and stretches for nearly a quarter of the planet's circumference.

Valles Marineris is more than 4,000 km long, up to about 200 km wide, and reaches roughly 7 km in depth, making it the largest known canyon system in the Solar System. It is not a single narrow gorge like Earth's Grand Canyon, but a connected network of enormous chasmata and valleys.

The system was named after NASA's Mariner 9 orbiter, which discovered it while mapping Mars in 1971–72. Its western end begins near Noctis Labyrinthus, while its eastern channels eventually lead toward the Chryse Planitia region.

A common mix-up is Mariner Valley, a loose English translation of the Latin name. Olympus Mons is instead a giant volcano, and the Grand Canyon is located on Earth.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Aug. 2026

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