The Silver Lake playa (a dry lake bed) is located in the Mojave Desert of California. It supported lakes during Pleistocene glacial epochs. The setting is similar to the proposed landing sites for the Mars rover missions. Preserved beach ridges, recessional shorelines, and a break-out channel are all evidence of the ancient lake. The playa surface is composed of silt-sized particles with predominately clay mineralogy. The playa is bordered to the west by the Soda Mountains, which are composed of several types of varnished and uncoated rocks.
- Detailed report from a recent trip to Silver Lake by scientists, engineers, and students from Washington University and JPL.
- Orbital and Descent Images of the Silver Lake area which were used to plan traverses.
- The SPOT panchromatic image below shows Silver Lake and the test site (boxed area). Click on the image to see a larger version.
