Melas Chasma is part of the huge Valles Marineris rift valley, which stretches for more than 4000 km across the face of Mars. Melas Chasma itself sinks 9 km below the surrounding surface, making it one of the lowest depressions on Mars. This image was created using a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) obtained from the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft. Elevation data from the DTM are colour-coded: purple indicates the lowest-lying regions, and beige the highest elevations. The scale is in metres.