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A Gullied Crater Wall

Nov. 23, 2004
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows southern middle-latitude gullies cut into the wall of an impact crater on Mars. Gullies might indicate that groundwater seeped to the surface and ran down these slopes.

23 November 2004
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a suite of southern middle-latitude gullies cut into the wall of an impact crater located near 32.1°S, 12.9°W. These gullies might indicate that groundwater seeped to the surface and ran down these slopes. Others have suggested that similar gullies on Mars might form by other processes, including melting of ground ice or snow, but this image does not provide any clues that would suggest either of these alternatives are better than the groundwater interpretation. The 300 meter scale bar is about 984 feet long. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left.

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