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Sedimentary Rock Outcrops

Aug. 16, 2004
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows eroded layered rock outcrops in a crater north of Meridiani Planum on Mars. The crater in which these layers occur may once have been completely filled and buried.

16 August 2004
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows eroded layered rock outcrops in a crater north of Meridiani Planum near 2.7°N, 359.1°W. The dozens and dozens of sedimentary rock layers of repeated thickness and similar physical properties at this location suggest that they may have been deposited in a lacustrine (lake) setting. The crater in which these layers occur may once have been completely filled and buried, as is the case for many craters in the Sinus Meridiani region. This image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across; sunlight illuminates the scene from the left.

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