NASA MRO HiRISE Image of Mars: Light-Toned Layered Rock Outcrop in Ladon Valles

Ladon Vallis, an approximately 600 kilometer (370 mile) long outflow channel, is part of a larger system that begins in Argyre basin to the south and extends northwards across the Southern Highlands towards the larger Ares Vallis outflow system. This image shows part of Ladon Vallis that is located within Ladon basin.

Here the extensive laterally continuous outcrops of layered light-tone units and deposits contrasts sharply with the darker-toned materials that cover the channel floor. Dark-toned dunes partly infill fractures and impact craters.

These extensive layers may have resulted from ponding of water and sediments that flowed into the basin from Ladon Vallis. Subsequent episodic flood events out of the basin to the north may have eroded and exposed the pre-existing sedimentary layers.

Written by: Ginny Gulick (4 October 2011) More images.