Mars, named after Egypt

17 named features. The International Astronomical Union records why each name was chosen, and those reasons are printed below exactly as they were approved.

FEATURES · 17

NAME	TYPE	SIZE	WHY THAT NAME
Amenthes Cavi	cavus	1330.5 km	Classical albedo feature name.
Amenthes Planum	plateau	953 km	Classical albedo feature name.
Sinai Planum	plateau	901.4 km	Classical albedo feature name.
Amenthes Fossae	fossa	850 km	Classical albedo feature name.
Sinai Fossae	fossa	589.2 km	Classical albedo feature name.
Harmakhis Vallis	valley	526.7 km	Ancient Egyptian word for "Mars."
Sinai Dorsa	dorsum	456.5 km	Classical albedo feature name.
Amenthes Rupes	rupes	335.3 km	Classical albedo feature name.
Ptolemaeus	crater	165.2 km	Claudius; Greco-Egyptian astronomer (c. A.D. 90-160).
Her Desher Vallis	valley	117.3 km	Egyptian name for Mars.
Naar	crater	11.3 km	Town in Egypt.
Qara	crater	2.5 km	Village in Egypt.
Dush	crater	2.4 km	Town in Egypt.
Amenthes	other	n/a	Egyptian name for place where souls of the dead go.
Neith Regio	other	n/a	Lower world in Egyptian mythology.
Sinai	other	n/a	Biblical; named for area next to Mare Erythraeum (Indian Ocean).
Thoth	other	n/a	Egyptian messenger god.

Names and their origins come from the IAU Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature (USGS Astrogeology), retrieved 2026-08-14.
All named features ｜ KUON MARS map ｜ About the map ｜ The temperature on Mars ｜ How far away Mars is

DATA: IAU / USGS Astrogeology · NASA MGS MOLA · NASA Mars Odyssey THEMIS