New images show evidence of ancient Martian lake

Associated Press

June 18, 2009 03:55 pm

— LOS ANGELES — Scientists say new images from space suggest Mars had a sizable lake on its surface billions of years ago.
Images taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show a 30-mile-long canyon and beach remnants surrounding a basin.
Researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder estimate the lake, which probably formed 3.4 billion years ago, was 80 square miles and up to 1,500 feet deep.
The findings were published in this week’s Geophysical Research Letters.