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.