Ancient Lake Sediments in a Crater
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Ancient Lake Sediments in a Crater
ESP_037122_2165  Science Theme: Tectonic Processes
This image shows some interesting fractured materials on the floor of an impact crater in Arabia Terra.

There is a channel entering the crater and exiting it (see CTX image). This channel, along with an unusual deposit on the lowest part of the floor, suggests that there was once an ancient lake that deposited sediments here.

Our enhanced-color sample shows layered deposits, some with polygonal patterns, as might be expected from lake sediments. The fracturing of these deposits might have resulted from the sudden breaching of the crater rim, draining the lake.

Written by: Alfred McEwen (narration: Tre Gibbs)  (16 July 2014)

This is a stereo pair with ESP_035843_2165.
 
Acquisition date
28 June 2014

Local Mars time
15:21

Latitude (centered)
35.962°

Longitude (East)
351.819°

Spacecraft altitude
295.8 km (183.8 miles)

Original image scale range
65.6 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~197 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
50 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
26.5°

Phase angle
77.9°

Solar incidence angle
52°, with the Sun about 38° above the horizon

Solar longitude
152.7°, Northern Summer

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  97°
Sub-solar azimuth:  351.1°
JPEG
Black and white
map projected  non-map

IRB color
map projected  non-map

Merged IRB
map projected

Merged RGB
map projected

RGB color
non-map projected

JP2
Black and white
map-projected   (575MB)

IRB color
map-projected   (330MB)

JP2 EXTRAS
Black and white
map-projected  (283MB)
non-map           (208MB)

IRB color
map projected  (103MB)
non-map           (222MB)

Merged IRB
map projected  (543MB)

Merged RGB
map-projected  (501MB)

RGB color
non map           (202MB)
ANAGLYPHS
Map-projected, reduced-resolution
Full resolution JP2 download
Anaglyph details page

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
B&W label
Color label
Merged IRB label
Merged RGB label
EDR products
HiView

NB
IRB: infrared-red-blue
RGB: red-green-blue
About color products (PDF)

Black & white is 5 km across; enhanced color about 1 km
For scale, use JPEG/JP2 black & white map-projected images

USAGE POLICY
All of the images produced by HiRISE and accessible on this site are within the public domain: there are no restrictions on their usage by anyone in the public, including news or science organizations. We do ask for a credit line where possible:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

POSTSCRIPT
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.