Samarkand Sulci

Background

Samarkand Sulci consists of three parts. The southern and eastern extensions bound Sarandib Planitia on its western and northern sides, respectively, while the northern portion extends into cratered terrain.

Using Voyager 2 images, Kargel and Pozio (1996) found that the northern and southern/eastern extensions are likely distinct features with different origins and ages. The portions surrounding Sarandib Planitia were characterized as sinuous 'mountainous ridges' 1–1.5 km in height, lying within relative topographic lows, and were suggested to be fold belts similar to North America's Appalachian Mountains. The northern portion consists of linear fractures, suggesting an extensional rift rather than a compressional fold belt; crater counts indicated the rift formed before the ridges.

Recent Cassini images show numerous parallel ridges in the southern and eastern extensions, some chevron-shaped, with sharp scarps bounding the ridge belts. On the far eastern tip, scarps converge as ridge belts disappear, forming narrow canyons. Northern Samarkand Sulci appears unconsolidated, with craters like Ahmad and Peri-Banu cross-cut or flooded by this portion. Near the southern end, dark patches 500–750 m across lie along ridge crests, possibly collapse pits.