Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

, the second planet from the

Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

, is classified as a

terrestrial planet A terrestrial planet, tellurian planet, telluric planet, or rocky planet, is a planet that is composed primarily of silicate, rocks or metals. Within the Solar System, the terrestrial planets accepted by the IAU are the inner planets closest to ...

. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister planet" due to their similar size, gravity, and bulk composition (Venus is both the closest planet to Earth and the planet closest in size to Earth). The surface of Venus is covered by a dense atmosphere and presents clear evidence of former violent volcanic activity. It has shield and composite volcanoes similar to those found on Earth.

Valles

Cytherean Cytherean is an adjective literally meaning ''of Cythera'' (Latin ''Cytherēa'', from the Greek adjective Κυθέρεια ''Kythereia'', from Κύθηρα ''Kythēra'' 'Cythera'). Cythera is a small Greek island, southeast of the Peloponn ...

valleys are called by the Latin term ''valles'', and are named after river goddesses or after words for the planet Venus (including terms for the ''morning star'' or ''evening star'' specifically) in various languages.

Undae

Undae,

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

fields, are named after desert goddesses.

Tesserae

Tesserae A tessera (plural: tesserae, diminutive ''tessella'') is an individual tile, usually formed in the shape of a square, used in creating a mosaic. It is also known as an abaciscus or abaculus. Historical tesserae In early antiquity, mo ...

are areas of

polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...

al terrain. They are named after goddesses in world mythologies.

Rupes

Scarps on Venus are called

rupes Rupes (plural ) is the Latin word for 'cliff'. It is used in planetary geology to refer to escarpments on other worlds. , the International Astronomical Union, IAU has named 62 such features in the Solar System, on Mercury (planet), Mercury (17 ...

and are named after goddesses of the hearth.

Tholi

Tholi are areas of small domical hill or mountains on Venus, typically characterized by its steep flanks.

Regiones

A regio refers to a distinct geographical area on the planet's surface with a specific geological features

Plana

Plana are regions of flat topography.

Planitiae

Paterae

A Paterae is an irregular crater or a complex crater with scalloped edges.

Lineae

Labyrinthi

Fossae

Fluctūs

Farra

Dorsa

Colles

Chasmata

Notes

References

USGS
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geological features on Venus Surface features of Venus Venus-related lists