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Cool image time! The photo to the right, cropped and reduced to post here, was taken on May 26, 2022 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). It shows a mesa about three quarters of a mile in length that appears to be many-layered, from top to bottom.

The brightness of the mesa, compared to the surrounding plains, also emphasizes the different layers, though in this case it suggests two major epochs where the material being laid down in each was fundamentally different.

Or the difference could simply mean that the surrounding terrain is covered with dust, hiding its true color.

There is no question that winds in the thin Martian atmosphere have contributed to the erosion that formed this mesa, much like the buttes in the American southwest are shaped by winds. Whether water was a factor for this Martian butte is far less certain.

The overview map below provides context.

The black dot about 400 miles to the northeast of the landing site for the rover Opportunity marks the location of this mesa. It sits in Arabia Terra, the largest transition zone on Mars between the lowland northern plains and the southern cratered highlands. It also sits in the Martian dry equatorial regions. If there is water ice here it will be found underground, protected from the equator’s relatively warmer temperatures — though still quite cold by Earth standards.

At the Martian equator the daytime temperature can often rise above freezing, but most of the time it is well below. For example, for the past week or so the high daytime temperature in Jezero Crater has ranged from 13 to 17 degrees Fahrenheit, typical for a Martian winter day at latitude 18 degrees north. During the summer temperatures could rise into the 70s, but generally will be much less.