Vallis Schröteri is considered to be the largest of our satellite channels, which actually consists of two channels. The longest channel, 155 km long, crosses the Aristarco plateau, and the smallest curved inner channel (204 km long) runs through the interior of the larger channel; arrow # 1 shows where it continues to extend beyond the larger channel and arrow 2 indicates a small piece of that same channel at the snake's head. This seems to be very similar to what happens in Vallis Alpes! These two channels in Vallis Schröteri may have formed during two different volcanic events or may represent a change in the volume of a single eruption over time. The channel is formed when lava flows were larger in volume. The internal canal subsequently passed through the interior of the larger canal after a new eruption. Geologists have questions such as: Why did the inner channel flow beyond the larger channel? Was magma flow faster for a smaller channel? Scientists do not fully understand how the channels were formed on the moon's surface, but there are two main theories. Generally, the channels formed when large volumes of very fluid, low viscosity lavas were rapidly expelled and began to flow. The molten lava may then have dug a channel in the moon's surface through the erosive power of the magma stream, which was then drained, leaving behind only an empty riverbed. An alternative theory proposes that initially the lava channel overflows from its edges, forming a confined flow channel rather than spreading over a large surface like a mare. Vallis Schröteri begins at a crater diameter of 6 km north of Herodotus. Some people call the beginning of the Cobra Head channel because they remember a snake. The canal has a maximum width of 10 km. For comparison, the Grand Canyon on Earth, formed by the flow of water, has a width ranging from 6.4 to 29 km.

A photo like the one I made on August 6, 2013 was chosen by the late Chuck Woods as the photo of the day on the famous LPOD: https://www2.lpod.org/wiki/August_6,_2013