Click to see a larger image on the Guardian web site …
From Today’s Guardian …click here …
This image, provided by NASA, shows volcanic cones on Mars that are similar in size and shape to cones found in Iceland where hot lava has run over wet ground. The heat from the lava boils the water which then bursts up through the lava flow in a steam-driven explosion. A long series of such explosions is needed to build up one of the large cones. The image was taken by the HiRISE camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
In other words, the only known way you get formations like this is when you combine lava with lots of water.