The Yardangs of Mars

Geological Society (UK) ^ | July 24, 2004 | staff

[SunkenCiv]

Loose sand and rock fragments, transported by high winds, impact on the bedrock and slowly remove parts of the surface - the natural effect mimicked by a sand-blaster. If these winds blow in the same direction for long enough, 'wind-lanes', as seen in the picture, can form given the right ground conditions. The linear walls of rock left standing are called yardangs. Where the rock is more resistant, the erosive force of the wind may not be enough to cause this sandblasting. Such variation in erodability might be the reason for the three flat, relatively unsculpted regions (in the foreground on the left, and top right), which measure about 17 by 9 kilometres.

[SunkenCiv]

One suggestion for the formation of the Great Sphinx (Giza, Egypt) is that it began as a yardang. That explanation doesn't make any sense, except possibly for the head. I bring that up because there are those who still seem to think that the "Face on Mars" was anything but a 32 pixel artifact of the Viking orbiter camera resolution. The "Face" has been reimaged (more than five years ago) at much higher resolution, and it is indeed a natural formation, with no symmetry or much else that is remarkable. Also, other natural formations on Mars were attributed by Richard Hoaxland to artificial structures.

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[SunkenCiv]

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