Gale Crater Mound

Scaled Image

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/ASU

About this image

The eroded, layered deposit in Gale Crater is a mound of material rising 3 km above the crater floor. It has been sculpted by wind and possibly water to produce the dramatic landforms seen today. The origin of the sedimentary material that composes the mound remains a contested issue: was it produced from sedimentation in an ancient crater lake or by airfall onto dry land? The small channels seen in the image are evidence of recent fluid flow. Mega-ripples (a dune form) are found in the region, most likely formed by the same winds that have eroded the layered deposit.

Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images. 

Context

Image ID: 
V05214001 (View data in Mars Image Explorer)
-5.1196
137.488
5214
2003-02-16 10:57
Tue, 2003-03-25
VIS
1024 pixels (18 km)
3648 pixels (64 km)
0.017575 km/pixel
0.017703 km/pixel

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