Mare Acidalium is one of the dark areas on the map of Mars of Schiaparelli (1886). Acidalia Planitia, a large, low-albedo depression lying as low as 3 km below the Martian datum (U.S. Geological Survey, 1976) makes up much of the Mare Acidalium quadrangle. Arabia Terra and Tempe Terra bound Acidalia Planitia to the southeast and southwest, respectively. Chryse Planitia is south and Vastitas Borealis is north of Acidalia Planitia.