HiPOD: Wednesday, 6 January 2021
Ancient Lake Sediments in a Crater

Ancient Lake Sediments in a Crater
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.

ID: ESP_037122_2165
date: 28 June 2014
altitude: 296 km

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_037122_2165
NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
#Mars #science #NASA

Black & white is less than 5 km across; enhanced color is less than 1 km. For full observation details, visit the ID link.