Impact craters expose the subsurface materials on steep slopes. However, these slopes often experience rockfalls and debris avalanches that keep the surface clean of dust, revealing a variety of hues, like in this enhanced-color image , representing different rock types. The bright reddish material at the top of the crater rim is from a coating of the Martian dust.

The long streamers of material are from downslope movements. Also revealed in this slope are a variety of bedrock textures, with a mix of layered and jumbled deposits. This sample is typical of the Martian highlands, with lava flows and water-lain materials depositing layers, then broken up and jumbled by many impact events.

(Note: North is approximately down in the cutout and above image).

Written by: Alfred McEwen  (2 January 2017)

This is a stereo pair with ESP_021454_1550 .

More info and image formats at http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_021520_1550

Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona