Young volcanic deposits in the Valles Marineris, Mars?

The emplacement of a sequence of deposits covering the chasma floors of the central Valles Marineris of Mars, ranging from thin dust to several km in thickness, appears to have been the last major formational event. These deposits fall into the categories of (1) dark patches lying along faults, (2) light-colored deposits locally associated with craters, and (3) mottled, rugged deposits. It is presently suggested that these materials may be of volcanic origin, in view of their low albedo, their association with faults and possible volcanic features, and their embayment relations and lobate margins. If the suggestion is true, then the occasionally explosive volcanism in question was associated with rifting in the Valles Marineris, and may be as young as the late Tharsis volcanism.