MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-496, 27 September 2003

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image, acquired in February 2003, shows pits formed by faulting and collapse in the Tractus Fossae region of Mars. The faulting and pitting processes have exposed the layered bedrock. Boulders, many of them now mantled by dust, have rolled down to the bottom of the larger pit. Dark streaks on the pit walls result from avalanches of dust. This picture is located near 23.7°N, 104.0°W, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the left.