Click each of the six thumbnails below to see the details. The area above the channels has been eroded by massive dry avalanches of debris. They have formed a pattern of chutes and ridges on the upper slope of the wall. The top layer has many boulders in it, each the size of a small house. Boulders are left behind when the dry avalanches occur.
Photo shows troughs and layered mesas.
Since there are many gullies in the same layer in each mesa, it suggests that this layer, or aquifer, is very good at storing and conducting water. The aquifer is likely to be less than a few hundred meters beneath the surface. Click here for a long shot of Gorgonum Chaos. It shows how this small section fits into the larger scheme of things. First area photographed Dec. 1997 indicating water on Mars.