The clay-rich terrain surrounding Mawrth Vallis is one of the most scenic regions of Mars, a future interplanetary park. Here, we cut a long, oblique view into strips to see the full color coverage in more compact form .

The origin of these altered layers is the subject of continued debates, perhaps to be resolved by a future rover on the surface. We do know that these layers are very ancient, dating back to a time when the environment of Mars was wetter and more habitable, if there were any inhabitants.

Written by: Alfred McEwen  (7 August 2017)

This is a stereo pair with PSP_008245_2045 .

More info and image formats at http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_016394_2045

Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona