False color infrared image of layered deposits in southwestern Candor Chasma, a side canyon in the central Valles Marineris. These layered deposits, which are several kilometers thick in places, are finely layered and have an unclear origin. They may have been deposited by volcanic airfall, wind, or deep lakes once filling the canyon. The layering here is heavily faulted and distorted, suggesting that tectonic activity has twisted the rocks. Fault analysis suggests that most faults (including the large dark fault running top-bottom at center right) parallel the canyon walls, implying that the faults are related to the formation of the canyon.

This image was created using the CRISM imaging spectrometer. Each pixel of a CRISM image contains a 500 point spectrum, from which a color can be reconstructed. This reconstructed color was overlaid on a higher-resolution image taken with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Context Camera (CTX), which simultaneously took a photo while CRISM was collecting data. This image covers the infrared spectrum between between 800 nm and 2000 nm, where mineral colors that are difficult to distinguish in visible light become much easier to tell apart.

This image was taken on December 2, 2006. It uses CRISM observation HRL000033B7 and CTX observation CTX_P02_001641_1734_XI_06S075W