HiRISE: Alluvial fan in a low-latitude crater

On Earth, alluvial fans form in desert regions when heavy but sporadic rainfall washes debris from upslope and deposits it in a wedge-shaped fan on the lower slopes below. On Mars, alluvial fans are sometimes visible in impact crater basins, as material from the steep rims is transported radially inward to the relatively flat floor. Because this is a water-driven process on Earth, and therefore might work the same way on Mars, scientists study Martian alluvial fans order to try to better understand…. [More at link]