The world of rovers · 132–133
Stops along Curiosity’s journey
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Active, migrating barchan and linear dunes of olivine-basalt sand show three size ranges of wave forms: large dunes, including barchans common on Earth; centimetre-scale ripples; and intermediate ripples 2–3 metres long that are unknown on Earth. This is a landscape seen only on Mars!
These mesas consist of ancient dune sand in the Stimson Formation, protected by erosion-resistant caprock. The sandstone remnants stand on smooth, cracked mudstone deposited in lakes before dune fields occupied the dried lake beds. The caprock protected the layers beneath it, while wind removed the surrounding material.