AN EARLY LOOK AT THE TECTONIC AND MAGMATIC HISTORY OF THE CLARITAS REGION; MARS

The formation of the Tharsis rise dominated the geologic and tectonic histories of the western hemisphere of Mars. Claritas rise is a distinct promontory located on the eastern side of Tharsis. Claritas contains the greatest percentage of faults preserved in Noachian materials for the western hemisphere, and is marked by an enormous rift system and highly deformed mountainous materials interpreted to be ancient basement crust. Unraveling the complex array of faults associated with Claritas provides a key to understanding the early history of the Martian crust. This area has been identified as a center of activity representing a region of broad magmatic-driven uplift and associated tectonism. Because it spatially registers with a magnetic signature, the activity is interpreted to mark either incipient Tharsis development, or more likely, pre-Tharsis activity, when the Martian dynamo was in operation. In this presentation, we plan on presenting our continuing analysis of the type and ages of the major fault systems identified within the Claritas region.