This HiRISE image shows "Victoria Crater," an impact crater at Meridiani Planum, near the equator of Mars. The crater is approximately 800 meters (about half a mile) in diameter. It has a distinctive "scalloped" shape to its rim, caused by erosion and downhill movement of crater wall material. Layered sedimentary rocks are exposed along the inner wall of the crater, and boulders that have fallen from the crater wall are visible on the crater floor. The floor of the crater is occupied by a striking field of sand dunes.

Since January, 2004, the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has been operating at Meridiani Planum. Five days before this image was taken, Opportunity arrived at the rim of Victoria Crater, after a drive of more than 9 km (over 5 miles). The rover can be seen in this image, at roughly the "ten o'clock" position along the rim of the crater.

Anaglyph
HiRISE has imaged Victoria three times, and shown is a combination of two of those views.

To see the topography, view this image through glasses with a red filter for your left eye, and a blue or blue-green filter for your right eye. The difference in viewing angle between the two images is about 12 degrees, greater than the convergence angle between the left and right eyes of humans while viewing distant objects, so the vertical relief appears much steeper than is actually the case. While some of the cliffs around the crater are in fact vertical, the slopes below the cliffs are no steeper than 30 degrees.
Written by: HiRISE Science Team   (12 December 2006)