The bed of a sea that once held more water than the rest of Mars' lakes combined.
Eridania Basin was home to an ancient mega-lake that is estimated to have held more water than all other known Martian lakes put together. Its floor preserves mineral deposits that may mark some of the oldest seafloor hydrothermal activity ever found.
Claim your plot here →Some 3.7 billion years ago, the Eridania Basin cradled an enormous body of water — a mega-lake or sea holding an estimated volume greater than that of every other identified Mars lake combined. Its overflow is thought to have poured north through Ma'adim Vallis and into Gusev crater, later visited by the Spirit rover.
In 2017, scientists reported thick seafloor deposits here consistent with hydrothermal, or hot-spring, activity on the ancient lakebed — possibly the oldest such evidence on Mars. On Earth, similar seafloor vents are candidate cradles of life, making Eridania a prime target in the search for ancient Martian biology.
Eridania's sea is estimated to have held more water than all other known Martian lakes combined.
Eridania fed Ma'adim Vallis, which drained downhill into Gusev — linking this basin to a rover landing site.