Image:Miranda scarp.jpg

Miranda High Resolution of Large Fault This high-resolution image of Miranda was acquired by Voyager 2 on Jan. 24, 1986, when the spacecraft was 36,250 kilometers (22,500 miles) from the Uranian moon. In this clear-filter, narrow-angle image, Miranda displays a dramatically varied surface. Well shown at this resolution of 660 meters (2,160 feet) are numerous ridges and valleys -- a topography that was probably produced by compressional tectonics. Cutting across the ridges and valleys are many faults. The largest fault scarp, or cliff, is seen below and right of center; it shows grooves probably made by the contact of the fault blocks as they rubbed against each other (leaving what are known as slickensides). Movement of the down-dropped block is shown by the offset of the ridges. The fault may be 5 km (3 mi) high, or higher than the walls of the Grand Canyon on Earth. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The NASA image has been rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise.

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00044

January 24, 1986

NASA/JPL