Scopulus

{{Short description|Lobate or irregular escarpment}}

File:Nilokeras Scopulus.jpg (MOLA) colorized elevation overlying Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) Infrared (IR) daytime mosaic from Mars Odyssey spacecraft. Yellow and light green represent high elevations; dark green and blue are lower elevations. Image is approximately 175 km across. Vertical exaggeration is 3X.]]

In planetary geology, a scopulus {{IPAc-en|'|s|k|Q|p|j|U|l|@|s}} (pl. scopuli {{IPAc-en|'|s|k|Q|p|j|U|l|ai}}, from Greek σκόπελος "peak"Liddell and Scott (1975). An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon; Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK, p. 735.) is a lobate or irregular escarpment.Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/DescriptorTerms. In the early 1970s, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) adopted scopulus as one of a number of official descriptor terms for topographic features on Mars and other planets and satellites.Greeley, R. (1994) Planetary Landscapes, 2nd ed.; Chapman & Hall: New York, pp. 35–36. One justification for using neutral Latin or Greek descriptors was that it allowed features to be named and described before their geology or geomorphology could be determined.Russell, J.F.; Snyder, C.W.; Kieffer, H.H. (1992). Origin and Use of Martian Nomenclature in Mars, H.H. Kieffer et al., Eds.; University of Arizona Press: Tucson, AZ, p. 1310. Currently, the IAU recognizes 54 descriptor terms (see Planetary nomenclature). Thirteen features with the descriptor term scopulus are present on Mars.