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PIA19861: A Fresh Shallow Valley Transitions to an Inverted Channel
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)
 Spacecraft:  Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)
 Instrument:  HiRISE
 Product Size:  2880 x 1800 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  University of Arizona/HiRISE-LPL
 Other  
Information: 
Other products from image ESP_041144_2200
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA19861.tif (15.56 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA19861.jpg (1.045 MB)

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

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This image shows a portion of a long valley system in northern Arabia Terra. The valley must be relatively young because it cuts through the ejecta of an impact crater that still retains it entire ejecta blanket, indicating the crater is also fairly young and fresh.

The valley is interesting because it transitions to an inverted channel near its end point. Inverted channels form when a valley fills with materials. Later, erosion removes the surrounding terrain leaving behind higher standing and more resistant material that filled the valley.

The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

Image Addition Date:
2015-07-29