Is Mars habitable? A critical examination of Professor Percival Lowell's book "Mars and its canals," with an alternative explanation

by Alfred Russel Wallace

CHAPTER VII.

A SUGGESTION AS TO THE 'CANALS' OF MARS,
—Special features of the canals
—Mr. Pickering's suggested explanation
—The meteoritic hypotheses of origin of planets
—Probable mode of origin of Mars
—Structural straight lines on the earth
—Probable origin of the surface-features of Mars
—Symmetry of basaltic columns
—How this applies to Mars
—Suggested explanation of the oases
—Probable function of the great fissures
—Suggested origin of blue patches adjacent to snow-caps
—The double canals
—Concluding remarks on the canals.