This region of eastern Meridiani shows a fairly smooth texture where we can see the filling-in of small craters with aeolian (wind deposited) sand.

The sand is likely basaltic in origin. Some of the sand blown by the wind has eroded the local terrain, whereas other deposits have become trapped within small craters. The bedrock contains phyllosilicates (clay minerals), which form in the presence of water. Phyllosilicates have been detected in higher concentrations in other areas of Mars such as Mawrth Vallis and Nili Fossae, but detections of lesser abundance have been noticed in Meridiani as well.
Written by: Jennifer Griffes

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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.