[3] At the volcano Ol Doinyo Lengai in Tanzania, natrocarbonatite lava erupts at around 780 K (510 °C), not far above Venus's mean ambient temperature of 735 K (462 °C).

Analysis of cross-sectional profiles (using brightness data from Magellan synthetic aperture radar images) indicates that while Baltis Vallis does have levees, primarily in its first 1,500 km (930 mi), and intrachannel ridges, mainly in the segment 1,500–3,000 km (930–1,860 mi) from the source, the feature is primarily erosional, with a bottom surface 20–100 m (66–328 ft) below the surrounding plains at 90% of the sites studied.

The formation of the channel may be associated with a single event that emplaced a large unit that type of volcanic terrain.

In some places they appear to have been formed by lava which may have melted or thermally eroded a path over the plains' surface.

In addition, they appear to run both upslope and downslope, suggesting that the plains were warped by regional tectonism after channel formation.