Cydonia is a region on the planet Mars that has attracted both scientific and popular interest. The name originally referred to the albedo feature that was visible from Earthbound telescopes. The area borders the plains of Acidalia Planitia and the Arabia Terra highlands. The area includes the regions: "Cydonia Mensae", an area of flat-topped mesa-like features, "Cydonia Colles", a region of small hills or knobs, and "Cydonia Labyrinthus", a complex of intersecting valleys. As with other albedo features on Mars, the name Cydonia was drawn from classical antiquity, in this case from Cydonia or Kydonia, a historic polis on the island of Crete. Cydonia contains the "Face on Mars", located about halfway between Arandas Crater and Bamberg Crater.
