The region is dominated by so-called “Yardangs“, which cover most of the pictured area. Yardangs are features in sedimentary rock originating from the erosional force of wind. The wind is transporting loose material like sand grains and acts like a sand-blast unit. It erodes the soft sedimentary rock along already existing structures like gaps, fault lines or incisions and removes the material. A preferential direction of these features can develop if the wind direction is always alike. In the area pictured, most of the Yardangs are oriented in a northwest-southeast direction.

The flat area to the east of the scene at first glance seems to be featureless but after strong contrast enhancement of the annotation image so called platy flows become discernable. Here, the surface of a lava flow – possibly from close Olympus Mons - cooled and solidified, while liquid lava beneath kept flowing. The continued flow broke apart the solid surface and moved the pieces like rafts.