Diacria Scene

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image provides a representative view of the vast martian northern plains in the Diacria region near 52.8°N, 184.7°W. This is what the plains looked like in late northern spring in August 2004, after the seasonal winter frost had sublimed away and dust devils began to leave dark streaks on the surface. Many of the dark dust devil streaks in this image are concentrated near a low mound -- the location of a shallowly-filled and buried impact crater. The picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left.