![]() | This article contains too many pictures for its overall length.(November 2024) |
![]() Topographic map showing the boundaries of Lucus Planum | |
Feature type | Plateau |
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Location | Mare Tyrrhenum quadrangle, Mars |
Coordinates | 4°59′S177°10′W / 4.983°S 177.167°W [1] |
Diameter | ~900 km [1] |
Eponym | Latin lucus |
Lucus Planum is a region on Mars, named after an albedo feature. Its name was approved by the IAU in 1997. [1] The center latitude of the feature is 4.99 degrees S and the center longitude is 182.83 degrees. [1] It lies just to the east and north east of the volcano Apollinaris Patera. Lucus Planum lies in both the Memnonia quadrangle and the Aeolis quadrangles. It is part of a region called the "Medusae Fossae Formation" [2] Part of this region is covered with yardangs. They are formed by the action of wind on sand sized particles; hence they often point in the direction that the winds were blowing when they were formed. [3] [4] Views of yardangs in this region are shown below.