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Columnar Jointing (Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunar Explorer Italia)
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This image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows an exposure of layered rock that exhibits a type of fracturing - called Columnar Jointing - that results when cooling lava contracts.
The observation is cited in a report, "Discovery of Columnar Jointing on Mars", publisged in the February 2009 issue of the journal Geology. The Authors propose that flooding by water was likely what caused a quick cooling of lava to result in this jointing.
The image, taken Oct. 31, 2007, shows a portion of an Unnamed Crater about 16 Km (such as approx. 10 miles) in diameter and centered at 21,52° North Latitude and 184,35° East Long.
Shown here is a section about 1 Km (0,6 mile) wide from the image catalogued by the HiRISE team as PSP_005917_2020. The column-forming fractures resemble textures common on Earth in locations such as the Colombia River Basalt Group and in the Colorado Plateau.
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