This is a most interesting feature.
It is definitely a hole, walled by bedrock and very steep sided. There is no rim as such and it appears completely separate from Victoria crater in both MOC and rover imager.
The bedrock forms the faint white ring in the MOC image. We can't see the floor in the rover image but presumably is floored by the usual dark sand, making the dark spot in the MOC image.
The most interesting feature for me is the fact that the hole appears younger than the dune on the rim of Victoria crater. The dune is truncated by the hole, showing a near vertical section through the dune. The fact that the dune material support such a near vertical surface shows that the dune is very cohesive, perhaps indurated. The internal structure of the dune is clearly visible.
I don't think this is a volcanic crater. The lack of rim argues against a very recent volcanic feature and there is no other evidence of recent volcanism. The basaltic component to the and is a regional feature and can't be readily related to such a loal feature.
It does not look like an impact feature either. It's morphology is wrong. The walls are too steep and such a young (post dune) crater would have a rim. An eroded crater might lose its rim and even steep walls but would be much more shallow.
It looks like a collapse feature to me. the question is, what made the cavity the surface has collapsed into, and when? I hope the rover takes a closer look.
Jon
|