JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109

PHOTO CAPTION                                MAGELLAN
                                             P-37264
                                             12/5/90


     This Magellan image covers a region 77 kilometers (46 miles)
wide and 85 kilometers (51 miles) high.  This image shows part of
a long, open channel at 76.5 degrees north latitude, 335 degrees
longitude in the Vires-akka Chasma, about 100 kilometers (60 miles)
north of Freyja Montes, in the Denitsa Region of Venus.  The
channel ranges in width from less than 1 kilometer (3300 feet) to
4 kilometers (2.4 miles).  The portion of the channel visible in
this scene is over 120 kilometers (72 miles) long.  Longitudinal
scour features are visible within the channel, particularly where
it makes abrupt turns.  The channel may have been carved by very
low viscosity lavas that were able to remain fluid over great
distances and thermally erode pre-existing terrain due to the
extreme temperatures at Venus' surface.