Oblique perspective of the layered sediment mountain
Oblique perspective of the layered sediment mountain
This roughly 8000-metre-high flat-topped mountain in Hebes Chasma is made up of mineral deposits stacked in almost horizontal layers. Scientists continue to analyse whether these deposits would suggest a lacustrine origin or whether they were transported to their current location by the wind. The darker areas visible in the image consist of volcanic sand, which is found in various places at the bottom of the basin and also incorporated in the sediment mountain itself. This appears indicative of relatively recent sediment and ash deposits.
Copyright note:
As a joint undertaking by DLR, ESA and FU Berlin, the Mars Express HRSC images are published under a Creative Commons licence since December 2014: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO. This licence will also apply to all HRSC images released to date.
