Oblique perspective view of a mesa in Aeolis Mensae
Oblique perspective view of a mesa in Aeolis Mensae
Measuring 40 by 40 kilometres, the 2500-metre-high mesa protrudes like a small mountain from Aeolis Mensae in the transition zone between the northern lowlands and the southern hemisphere of Mars. Traces of wind erosion – referred to as yardangs – are visible in the foreground. They indicate the prevailing wind direction in this region of Mars, which runs southeast to northwest. There are other mesas in the background of the image, together with an older impact crater, the nearest edge of which has been eaten away by tectonic processes and erosion, allowing a view of the terraced rim of the crater on the opposite side.