Venus - Interior of Ovda Regio

This Magellan image shows part of the interior of Ovda Regio, one of the large highlands ringing the equator of Venus. Several tectonic events formed this complex block fractured terrain. An underlying fabric of ridges and valleys strikes northeast southwest. These ridges are spaced 10 to 20 kilometers (6 to 12 miles) apart and may have been caused by shortening of the crust at right angles to this trend. These structures are cut by thoroughgoing extension fractures trending northwest-southeast, suggesting a later episode of northeast southwest extension. Lastly, the largest valleys, particularly the 20 kilometer (12 mile) wide one extending across the image, were filled with dark material, probably lava. The complex internal fabric of Ovda Regio attests to a long history of tectonic deformation. This image, centered approximately at 1 degree south, 81 degrees east, measures 225 kilometers (140 miles) by 150 kilometers (90 miles) and was acquired by Magellan in November 1990.