This image captures a small piece of the southern edge of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the Solar System.

A pair of deep valleys can be see in the middle of the image, probably formed by ancient landslides. However, more recent lava flows have entered into the valley. These lava flows traverse the floor of the valley and feed a broad fan of lava flows at the mouth. The dark streaks along the valley walls are locations where the bright dust has been removed by small dust avalanches.
Written by: Laszlo P. Keszthelyi

All of the images produced by HiRISE and accessible on this site are within the public domain: there are no restrictions on their usage by anyone in the public, including news or science organizations. We do ask for a credit line where possible: Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona. The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey’s ISIS3 software.