This channelized area is near the source region of the huge outflow channel, Ares Vallis. It was at the distal end or “long-ways down-river-area” where the Pathfinder/Sojourner mission landed on 4 July 1997.

This tiny region of Ares Vallis is on a plateau and did not contribute much to the overall water discharge. The slope downhill at the northeast edge of the image leads to the main channel.

Dune- and ripple-like transverse aeolian ridges (TARs) have since covered the bottom of the channels. These are oriented perpendicularly to the winds that must flow through these now-dry channels.

Written by: Kirby Runyon (audio: Tre Gibbs)   (14 January 2015)

More info and image formats at http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_038877_1875

Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona