Arc mode shatters, but dark or glow mode, with pulsing and/or modulation? If this were an area that was at the heart of a plasma stream contact with the surface, then I don't think it possible to predict what such a melee of E/M forces could create, but that canyon looks to me to be only explainable by such a process.G, Wouldn't something as powerful as an electrical plasma discharge just blast this kind of material to smithereens ?
I'm pretty sure we would see similar or even more fantastic formations on Mars if they could ever create a rover capable of visiting the more rugged areas, but it would need to be one capable of hovering over such areas, and not riding on the surface.

