Terra Cimmeria (ctx frame - Natural Colors; credits: Lunar Explorer Italia)

This image shows a network of small valleys in the Terra Cimmeria Region of the Martian Southern Highlands. This location is approx. 1000 Km (about 600 miles) South of Gusev Crater, the Landing Site of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit.

The valleys in this image are carved into light-toned bedrock exhibiting a range of colors, which likely reflect a range of mineralogical compositions. The bedrock is pervasively fractured, and some of the fractures appear to be filled with material of a different color, possibly composed of minerals that crystallized or were cemented together when fluids (perhaps water) circulated through the fractures.