Mars, June 28, 2008—Mars's Cerberus Fossae system of fissures, seen in an image released on August 13, 2008, may have produced ancient water and lava floods on the Martian surface.

The last of these eruptions consisted of liquid basaltic lava—not unlike that on Hawaii's Kilauea volcano—indicated by the artificial blue coloration above.

The trench floor's rippling pattern suggests a sea of fine, windblown fragments. The surrounding mesa is also eroded, but its overhanging top layer appears extremely weather resistant.

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