Sandblasting winds sculpt Mars landscape

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Jan 08, 2026

Martian winds lift sand grains into the air and drive them across the surface, where they erode soft sedimentary layers and gradually carve elongated grooves and ridges near the planet’s equator. The remaining ridges, mounds, or columns, known as yardangs, stand above the surrounding terrain and often extend for tens of kilometres in the direction of the prevailing winds.

In northern Eumen