Wayne Boyd
·
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Retired Geek with a background in Physics Updated Wed

Has anyone but me noticed that the big canyon on Mars has to be a gash?
It's huge and it isn't natural to the surface. Something passed so close
that it gashed the planet.

In researching for this answer, I found that the depth and width of
Valles Marineris suggest that it was formed by a more complex geological
process, involving tectonic activity and subsidence, rather than a
single catastrophic event. A object “scraping the ground” as it passed
nearby in space is not something that anyone is considering because it’s
just not a logical conclusion.

The largest canyon in the solar system, also referred to as the Grand
Canyon of Mars, or Valles Marineris, has an intriguing and puzzling
origin. There are at least three hypotheses about how it formed, and
none of them involve another celestial body grazing past Mars close
enough to scrape out a ditch:

One hypothesis suggests that it was formed by tectonic activity, caused
by the stretching and pulling apart of the Martian crust. This process
could have been triggered by the planet's internal heat and mantle
convection, or by the impact of a large asteroid or comet.
Another theory proposes that the canyon was formed by the collapse of
the Martian surface due to the removal of subsurface water or ice. This
process, known as subsidence, could have occurred due to climate change,
volcanic activity, or other geological processes.
Finally, some scientists suggest that Valles Marineris was formed by a
combination of these processes, with tectonic activity and subsidence
working together to create the massive canyon system.
Here are some of the statistics that make this geological wonder truly
impressive:

Valles Marineris is the largest canyon system in the solar system,
stretching over 4,000 km (2,485 miles) in length, up to 600 km (372
miles) in width, and reaching depths of up to 7 km (4.35 miles). That's
more than three times the length of the Grand Canyon in the United States!
The canyon is so massive that it spans nearly one-fifth of the entire
circumference of Mars, which has a circumference of 21,297 km (13,240
miles) at the equator.
At its deepest point, Valles Marineris is deeper than the Earth's Grand
Canyon by more than two kilometers (1.24 miles).
The walls of the canyon rise up to heights of 4 to 7 kilometers (2.48 to
4.35 miles), making them some of the tallest cliffs in the solar system.
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Answer requested by
Raymond Wayne Holton

Michael Cooke
· Tue
Wasn't it something to do with an enormous flood possibly caused by the
end of a martian ice age when the planet still had an atmosphere and a
lot of water?

Wayne Boyd
· Tue
There is no commonly accepted hypothesis among scientists for the
formation of Valles Marineris as an enormous ancient flood caused by the
end of a Martian ice age. While some scientists have proposed the idea
of an ancient flood playing a role in the formation of Valles Marineris,
there is not enough evidence to support this hypothesis.

Valles Marineris is a system of canyons on Mars that spans about 4,000
kilometers (2,500 miles) long and up to 7 kilometers (4 miles) deep.
There are several hypotheses for the formation of Valles Marineris,
including tectonic processes, volcanic activity, and erosion caused by
wind and water. However, the exact processes that led to the formation
of Valles Marineris remain a subject of ongoing research and debate
among scientists.