This image of Coprates Chasma shows the deepest part of the giant Valles Marineris canyon system, more than 7 kilometers below the nearest rim and 11 kilometers beneath the surrounding plateau.

Here we see a section of a crater, 8 km in diameter, that exposes light toned layered sediments in the wall, which are fractured and faulted, perhaps as a result of the impact.

Based on nearby CRISM spectral measurements, the layered sediments are probably made up of clays such as smectites, but carbonates, sulfates and chlorite have also been detected in this region.

All of these minerals suggest that water was involved in the formation of these sediments, which may have been deposited in ancient aqueous environments like lakes, or may have been altered by fluids flowing through the sediments sometime after deposition.

ID: ESP_089134_1655
date: 1 August 2025
altitude: 264 km

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_089134_1655
NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
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