MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-570, 10 December 2003

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture shows eroded layered bedrock outcrops in the upper walls of one of the depressions in the Tithonium Chasma trough system. Tithonium Chasma is one of the canyons of the Valles Marineris, a vast gouge that--if it occurred on Earth-would span the distance from Los Angeles, California, to New York City. The Valles Marineris canyons were not carved by running water, instead they formed mostly by the combined forces of faulting and mass movement (landslides) as gravity eroded materials from the walls. This image is located near 4.2°S, 85.1°W. The image covers an area approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated from the lower left.