Mars Geological Features

Monochrome images showcasing the surface geology of Mars, including impact craters and unique geological formations within the Valles Marineris system.

This MOC image shows outcrops of light-toned, massively-bedded rock in western Candor Chasma, part of the Valles Marineris trough system

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$This radar image from NASA's Magellan spacecraft is of a 'half crater' located in the rift between Rhea and Theia Montes in Beta Regio on Venus and has been cut by many fractures or faults since it was formed by the impact of a large asteroid.$

$Angustus Labyrinthus is a unique region near the south polar cap. The squares formed by intersecting ridges have given the feature the informal name of Inca City. The linear ridges are believed to have formed by volcanic and tectonic forces, where magma filled fractures in the subsurface and then erosion revealed the magmatic material. Orbit Number 76172 Latitude -81.2617 Longitude 295.232 Instrument VIS Captured 2019-02-15 06 40$

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$While we have learned so much about Mars after over 50 years of exploration with spacecraft, there are some features that continue to be mysteries. These depressions, found near the northern edge of the ancient highlands, have fractures that indicate collapse toward their centers. This pattern can be found on glaciers that sit atop volcanoes after a small eruption has melted some of the ice. It is plausible that there is substantial ice buried underground at this location on Mars but there is no obvious process to remove some of the ice to form these depressions.$

$This image of the floor of an old impact crater in Arabia Terra shows evidence of multiple different geological processes, both ancient and modern. The linear ridges and scarps formed eons ago, perhaps as fractures filled with lava or some other dark material that is more resistant to erosion than the surrounding materials in the crater floor. Boulders up to 3 meters in diameter are strewn downslope on both sides of the dark ridge near the center of the picture. The nearby knob is the source of several long dark slope streaks. These dark streaks are probably caused by dust avalanches that remove bright dust and reveal the darker subsurface below. These streaks likely formed within the last few years, based on HiRISE observations of slope streaks elsewhere on Mars.$

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