Oblique view of the central region of the giant Valles Marineris canyon system on Mars, computer- processed from Viking spacecraft imagery & topographic maps of the planet. The Valles Marineris is over 3000 km long & up to 8 km deep, dwarfing the Grand Canyon of Arizona. The canyons were formed by a combination of geological faulting, landslides, and erosion by wind and ancient water flows. The central area shown here contains layered deposits which may have been deposited by ancient lakes. The view is looking east, from 30 degrees above the horizon. (Image processing by Alfred McEwen & topographic mapping by Sherman Wu, both at USGS, Flagstaff, Arizona).