Monday, October 10, 2011

Crater with Surrounding Bench in Sinus Meridiani


This image is located within Northern Sinus Meridiani, a region of ridged terrains and extensive stratigraphic layering.

Originally identified in a Mars Orbiter Camera image (MOC), this 10-kilometer (approximately 6 miles) diameter crater is surrounded by a prominent bench. As this HiRISE image shows, there is extensive layering in the upper cap units.

The bench formed because these layered surface units are eroding at a faster rate than the more resistant underlying materials that comprise the rest of the crater.

This is a stereo pair with ESP_023593_1845.

Photo credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

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