Arsia "Dusty" Layers (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)

This image covers a Pit in the lower West Flank of Arsia Mons, one of the 4 giant Volcanos of the Tharsis Region.

Many Layers are exposed in the Pit, probably marking individual Lava Flows that overlapped (meaning: ONE Layer - ONE Flow), and provide information about the nature of the volcanic eruptions. This image was acquired in the middle of large regional Dust Storms on Mars, but the Atmosphere over this image is only moderately dusty because the altitude is 6,5 Km higher than the Planetary Mean (-----> media altitudine planetaria), so the air is quite thin and cannot hold as much Dust.

Although the Atmosphere is not too dusty, the Surface is buried by a Dust Layer that might be meters thick. These high-altitude locations on Mars have thick Dust Deposits because the thin air cannot blow away the Dust, or at least not as fast as it accumulates. On Earth the Oceans serve as "Dust Traps", while on Mars such Traps are the highest Volcanoes.