McLaughlin (Martian crater)

McLaughlin Crater

McLaughlin Crater viewed from orbit - small 0.550 km (0.342 mi) portion of 90.92 km (56.50 mi) diameter crater floor is shown - (MRO, HiRISE) (January, 2013).
Planet	Mars
Region	Oxia Palus quadrangle
Coordinates	21°54′N 337°38′E / 21.9°N 337.63°E / 21.9; 337.63Coordinates: 21°54′N 337°38′E / 21.9°N 337.63°E / 21.9; 337.63
Diameter	90.92 km (56.50 mi)
Depth	2.2 km (1.4 mi)
Eponym	Dean B. McLaughlin, American astronomer (1901-1965). (IAU, 1973).

McLaughlin Crater is an old crater in the Oxia Palus quadrangle of Mars, located at 21°54′N 337°38′E / 21.9°N 337.63°E / 21.9; 337.63. It is 90.92 km (56.50 mi) in diameter and 2.2 km (1.4 mi) deep. The crater was named after Dean B. McLaughlin, an American astronomer (1901-1965). The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has found evidence that the water came from beneath the surface between 3.7 billion and 4 billion years ago and remained long enough to make carbonate-related clay minerals found in layers. McLaughlin Crater, one of the deepest craters on Mars, contains Mg-Fe clays and carbonates that probably formed in a groundwater-fed alkaline lake. This type of lake could have had a massive biosphere of microscopic organisms.