Today's VIS image is shows a small portion of Tempe Fossae. The linear features are tectonic graben. Graben are formed by extension of the crust and faulting. When large amounts of pressure or tension are applied to rocks on timescales that are fast enough that the rock cannot respond by deforming, the rock breaks along faults. In the case of a graben, two parallel faults are formed by extension of the crust and the rock in between the faults drops downward into the space created by the extension. Numerous sets of graben are visible in this THEMIS image, trending from north-northeast to south-southwest. Because the faults defining the graben are formed perpendicular to the direction of the applied stress, we know that extensional forces were pulling the crust apart in the west-northwest/east-southeast direction. This image is located in a region of Tempe Terra that is complexly fractured. The complete fossae system in almost 2000 km (1242 miles) long. Orbit Number: 93872 Latitude: 37.5837 Longitude: 279.326 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2023-02-11 18:12 https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25921