JPL News - 2010 Feb 11
Near the center of a Martian crater about the size of Connecticut, hundreds of exposed rock layers form a mound as tall as the Rockies and reveal a record of major environmental changes on Mars billions of years ago.
The history told by this tall parfait of layers inside Gale Crater matches what has been proposed in recent years as the dominant planet-wide pattern for early Mars, according to a new report by geologists using instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
This oblique view shows geological layers of rock exposed on a mound inside Gale Crater on Mars. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/UA/USGS)
PIA12507: Perspective View of Layered Mound in Gale Crater, Mars