Terra Cimmeria

This scene in a Region of Mars named Terra Cimmeria shows a variety of ancient and recent geologic processes. In the upper portion of the image, a twisting ridge of raised ground may outline the location of a subsurface thrust fault. This type of fault results in the compression and crumpling of a Planet's surface. This crumpling of the Planet's surface has squeezed two originally circular craters on the ridge into oval-shaped craters. Valleys are also present throughout the image, suggesting that water flowed across this area a long time ago. Many valleys and craters in the image are now filled by deposits of dust or debris. This debris mantle is common over the middle latitudes of Mars and is a geologically recent deposit.
This image was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on March 25, 2006. The image is centered at 40,64° South latitude, 144,39° East Longitude. It is oriented such that North is 7° to the left of up. The range to the target was 2.038 Km (1.266 miles). At this distance the image scale is 2,04 meters (6,69 feet) per pixel, so objects as small as 6,1 mt (20 feet) are resolved. In total this image is 12,34 Km (such as about 7,67 miles) or 6.045 pixels wide and 34,68 Km (such as about 21,55 miles) or 17.003 pixels long. The image was taken at a Local Mars Time of 07:28 and the scene is illuminated from the upper right with a solar incidence angle of 82,0° (this meaning that the Sun was about 8,0° above the horizon).