This HiRISE image shows spectacular layering of light-toned material in a part of Valles Marineris called Candor Chasma.

The light-toned layered material was likely deposited when there was water in the Chasma. Many of the light-toned deposits within Valles Marineris contain sulfates (salts rich in sulfur) that formed when acidic water evaporated.

There are also many faults visible in the image that cut through the layered material, indicating that after the rocks were deposited they underwent stress that caused them to crack and shift in position. Some of the folding visible in the light-toned material resulted from slower movements of the rocks rather than the quicker movements that created the faults. The darker material is aeolian-derived and can be rippled.

Written by: Cathy Weitz   (15 June 2011)

This is a stereo pair with ESP_022699_1735 .

More info and image formats at http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_022343_1735

Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona