The dark dunes in the western Medusae Fossae formation provide some evidence of having a local origin.

This image shows no large dunes, but many of the dark sand patches cover slopes up to discrete layers. It is possible that the sand is eroding out from those layers, but slopes can also act as sand traps.

ID: ESP_039240_1730
date: 10 December 2014
altitude: 267 km

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_039240_1730
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
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