HiRISE: Squiggles in Hellas Planitia

ESP_051770_1345At around 2,200 kilometers in diameter, Hellas Planitia is the largest visible impact basin in the Solar System, and hosts the lowest elevations on Mars’ surface as well as a variety of landscapes. This image covers a small central portion of the basin and shows a dune field with lots of dust devil trails.

In the middle, we see what appears to be long and straight “scratch marks” running down the southeast (bottom-right) facing dune slopes. If we look closer, we can see these scratch marks actually squiggle back and forth on their way down the dune. These scratch marks are linear gullies. [More at link]

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