Link is a

rock outcrop An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficia ...

on the surface of Aeolis Palus, between Peace Vallis and Aeolis Mons ("Mount Sharp"), in

Gale crater Gale is a crater, and probable dry lake, at in the northwestern part of the Aeolis quadrangle on Mars. It is in diameter and estimated to be about 3.5–3.8 billion years old. The crater was named after Walter Frederick Gale, an amateur ast ...

on the planet

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

. The outcrop was encountered by the ''Curiosity'' rover on the way from

Bradbury Landing Bradbury Landing is the August 6, 2012, landing site within Gale crater on planet Mars of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) ''Curiosity'' rover. On August 22, 2012, on what would have been his 92nd birthday, NASA named the site for author Ra ...

to Glenelg Intrigue on September 2, 2012 (the 27th sol of the mission), and was named after a significant rock formation (and lake) in the Northwest Territories of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The "approximate" site coordinates are: . PIA16157-MarsCuriosityRover-GoulburnLinkHottah-20120927

The outcrop is a well-sorted gravel conglomerate, containing well-rounded, smooth, abraded pebbles. Pebbles and gravel a few millimeters to centimeters across are embedded in amongst a finer, white

matrix Matrix most commonly refers to: * ''The Matrix'' (franchise), an American media franchise ** ''The Matrix'', a 1999 science-fiction action film ** "The Matrix", a fictional setting, a virtual reality environment, within ''The Matrix'' (franchis ...

. This outcrop geology is strikingly similar to some terrestrial fluvial conglomerates. Around the rock are scattered well sorted loose gravel around 1 cm across, which are thought to be weathering out of the outcrop. The rock has been interpreted as a cemented fluvial

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sa ...

, deposited by a "vigorously" flowing stream, probably between ankle and waist deep. This stream is part of an ancient

alluvial fan An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to semiarid climates, but a ...

, which descends from the steep terrain at the rim of Gale crater across its floor.

References

External links

''Curiosity'' rover - Official SiteNASA - Mars Exploration Program

Volcanic rock classification

Video (04:32) - Evidence: Water "Vigorously" Flowed On Mars - September, 2012
Surface features of Mars Aeolis quadrangle Mars Science Laboratory Rocks on Mars {{Mars-stub

See also

References

External links