Exposed Layers in Gale Crater (EDM- Enhanced Natural Colors; credits: Lunexit)

This edm is a small portion of a HiRISE image detailing the fine-scale layering evident in the upper mound. The layered deposits can be divided into 2 types: a lower mound with near-horizontal, flat layers, and an upper mound with more numerous, thinner layers (some of which have greater degree of tilt than the lower layers).

The origin of these thin, repetitive layers is unknown, but they likely reflect environmental changes that occurred while the layers were being deposited.

Today, erosion by wind scour has shaped them into the stair-step pattern that is reminiscent of parts of the American South-West.