text: Though some people believed the Face was an alien artifact, this theory is disproved quickly because in truth the Face on Mars is just a mesa. The Face on Mars is in the area of Mars known as Cydonia. Cydonia is known for having lots of Martian mesas. Martian mesas are very similar to mesas or buttes found in the American West. Chief scientist for NASA's Mars Exploration Program Jim Garving quotes, "It reminds me most of Middle Butte in the Snake River Plain of Idaho." Which is a lava dome the takes the form of an isolated mesa, and is approximately the same hight as the mesa known as the Face on Mars.