Landslide in Coprates Chasma (Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)

This observation shows a Landslide in the Coprates Chasma Region of Valles Marineris that occurred when a large unstable area of rock broke away from the Cliffs that can be seen on the right side of the frame. This mass of falling rock broke into many small pieces as it slid downhill and came to rest at the base of the Cliff, forming the Lobate (curved) Mound visible on the left part of the image.

The smooth textured Ripples that can be seen in the central part of the frame are Sand Dunes. Sand Dunes form as wind-blown particles roll across the Surface and accumulate. Since the air on Mars is very thin, Sand Dunes take much longer to form on Mars than they do on Earth.
The presence of large Sand Dunes - along with many small Impact Craters - on top of this Landslide indicates that movement of the slide occurred a very long time ago; perhaps hundreds of millions of years.

This Landslide was probably caused by a strong Marsquake, but a nearby (significant) impact could have generated a deep shock-wave that was sufficiently strong to cause it. Alternatively, movement along nearby Faults may have triggered the Landslide.

The Valles Marineris Region is cut by many Faults and in fact contains many more Landslides such as this one. Some scientists believe that these Landslides represent a record of seismic activity in this area.

It is obvious that a better understanding of the history of seismic activity in this specific Region may help scientists to predict the likelihood that Marsquakes still occur on the Planet.