Bird’s-eye view of Coloe Fossae

This view was generated from the digital terrain model and the nadir and colour channels of the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA’s Mars Express. It shows a bird’s-eye view of the Coloe Fossae region of Mars, more specifically the wavy lines that indicate where material flowed during a previous martian ice age. The lack of impact craters in the low terrain at the foot of the cliff  shows that this is much younger than the (more heavily cratered) highland terrain.

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[Image description: A section of Mars’s surface in shades of light brown and tan. A steep, dark ridge runs horizontally across the centre, forming a sharp cliff that drops to a smoother, lighter plain below. The upper terrain is rough and uneven, with scattered small craters and ridges, while the lower area appears flatter and gently textured.]