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iod-marThe Floor of Toro Crater
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iod-marThe Floor of Toro Crater

February 5, 2012
Toro Crater may have experienced hydrothermal alteration, producing diverse minerals. The mineral diversity leads to diverse color in HiRISE, especially when enhanced as in this subimage.

In general the blue and green colors indicate unaltered minerals like pyroxene and olivine, whereas the warmer colors indicate alteration into clays and other minerals. The linear north-south trending features are windblown dunes that are much younger than the bedrock.

Written by: Alfred McEwen

Credits: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona