Map Projected Browse Image
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The sedimentary history of Mars is important to understanding climate change and the evolution of Mars. Sedimentary rocks consist of fine particles carried by the atmosphere and/or water and deposited in generally flat-lying layers, which become indurated (turn into rock) over time.

This image covers some steep slopes with good exposures of the bedrock layers, revealing diverse color and textures. A detailed study of many such exposures along with compositional data can be used to reconstruct the sequence of events and interpret the geologic history.

The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 51.8 centimeters [20.4 inches] per pixel [with 2 x 2 binning]; objects on the order of 155 centimeters [61.0 inches] across are resolved.) North is up.

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