Arnus Vallis, Mars

A Piece of Mars: This is a section of Arnus Vallis (scene is 1.25×1 km, 0.78×0.62 mi). It’s a >300 km long valley that was carved out, not by water, but by lava, long ago. Since then the wind has taken over. The left wall of the valley seems to have layers etched into high relief by wind scour; the floor is covered by ripples (TARs, really). But what I love most about this valley is that along the right (east) side, a long dune extends for much of the valley’s length (it’s why you don’t see layers on the eastern wall). You’re looking at a small section of what could be the longest dune on Mars. You can read more about the geology of this valley in this paper. (HiRISE PSP_007187_1920, NASA/JPL/Univ. of Arizona)