The Arcadia quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The quadrangle is located in the north-central portion of Marsâ western hemisphere and covers 240ð to 300ð east longitude (60ð to 120ð west longitude) and 30ð to 65ð north latitude. The quadrangle uses a Lambert conformal conic projection at a nominal scale of 1:5,000,000 (1:5M). The Arcadia quadrangle is also referred to as MC-3 (Mars Chart-3). The name comes from a mountainous region in southern Greece. It was adopted by IAU, in 1958.
The southern and northern borders of the Arcadia quadrangle are approximately 3,065 km and 1,500 km wide, respectively. The north to south distance is about 2,050 km (slightly less than the length of Greenland). The quadrangle covers an approximate area of 4.9 million square km, or a little over 3% of Marsâ surface area. The region called Tempe Terra is in the Arcadia quadrangle.
Several features found in this quadrangle are interesting, especially gullies which are believed to be caused by relatively recent flows of liquid water. Dark slope streaks and dust devil tracks can have a striking appearance.
Arcadia is the name of a telescopic albedo feature located at 45ð north latitude (N) and 260ð east longitude (E) on Mars. The feature was named after a mountainous region in southern Greece. The name was approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1958.
The quadrangle contains Alba Patera, the largest volcano (by area and volume) in the Solar System, Mareotis Fossae and Tempe as well as Tempe Terra, a highly fractured block of ancient crust about the size of Alaska.