Hellas Planitia

Hellas Planitia is a large geographic feature of Mars consisting of a basin within an impact crater. It is located in the southern hemisphere of Mars. It is the largest contiguous impact crater on Mars and the the third largest in the known solar system. The basin is approximately 7 km deep with a 2,300 km diameter.   Terraforming and canalization of polar melts has added a substantial ocean to Hellas, now known as the Hellas Sea, which has allowed artificially seeded flora and fauna to flourish in the Hellas Planitia after migration from the Mariner Valley Region. Since Hellas is one of the deepest locations on Mars, the air pressure is at its highest, nearing tolerable levels for baseline humans at its deepest points (were there no sea, the lowest point of Hellas Planitia would likely have an air pressure above the Armstrong Limit). This has made it a favorable location for second and third wave colonization by unaltered Terran colonists.
Type
Crater / Crater Lake / Caldera
Location under
Inhabiting Species

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