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Sample
from 'Mars gives up its secrets at last':
...To
begin with, we need to view the appearance of the surface of
Mars with ‘fresh’ eyes and ask ‘what explanations have
there been for the appearance of Mars?’
We are
informed that the surface of Mars has not only been affected
by meteorite impacts, but also by volcanic and tectonic
activity. Some say that the movement of glaciers caused
geological features on Mars when the planet was covered in
oceans. I believe that this is incorrect information and these
points will be addressed within the next few pages.
We are also
told that Mars has some of the largest volcanoes in the solar
system, but I disagree. Instead I argue that Olympus Mons,
which is over 600 kilometres wide and 26 kilometres high (and
its counterparts) are not volcanoes at all.
I believe
that they are what I can only I refer to as ‘percussion
pressure points’ on a truly monumental scale. This is
another surprising announcement that will no doubt attract
criticism - yet it will be backed by visual evidence later.
A common
misinterpretation of a feature of the surface of Mars is the
widely held assertion that volcanic activity, icebergs,
tectonic movement or glaciation is responsible for the
appearance of the spectacular Valles Marineris canyon system
that is over 8 kilometres deep and 4500 kilometres long.
Volcanic?
No. Glacial interaction with the surface of Mars? No. Movement of tectonic plates? Sorry, no.
At
this point I recall a memorable car journey I had in 2001. I
was driving along a motorway in North West England when it
started to rain.
“Nothing
memorable in that” I hear you say…
Putting
it into context, the subject of Mars and the appearance of its
surface had been something that I had been studying for some
time prior to this journey, and a simple observation during
the rain storm provided me with the answer to a significant
question that had troubled me: How were the features located
on the surface of Mars to the east, north east and south east
of the
Valles Marineris canyon system and to the north, south and
west of the Hellas Region formed? I simply had not been able
to come up with of any kind of feasible explanation of what
could be seen on Mars. Nothing made sense.
Of
course, the different regions are peppered with thousands of
impact craters of varying sizes, which I had no problem at all
explaining (later), but the unusual surface features that
appeared to resemble lava flows had me baffled. Lava flows
without any obvious source from which the lava had emerged?
Then,
travelling at around 60 miles an hour along the motorway, the
answer appeared...
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