List of geological features on Mercury is an itemization of mountains, valleys, craters and other landform features of the planet Mercury. Different types of features are named after different things: Mercurian ridges are called

dorsa Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

, and are named after

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

s who made detailed studies of the planet;

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

s are called valles, and are named after ancient abandoned cities, towns, and settlements;

crater chain A crater chain is a line of craters along the surface of an astronomical body. The descriptor term for crater chains is catena , plural catenae (Latin for "chain"), as specified by the International Astronomical Union's rules on planetary nome ...

s are called catenae and are named after radio telescope facilities; plains are called planitiae, and most are named after mythological names associated with Mercury;

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''esca ...

s 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 IAU has named 62 such features in the Solar System, on Mercury (17), Venus (7), the Moon (8), Mars (23), the asteroids ...

and are named after the ships of famous

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

s; long, narrow depressions are called fossae and are named after works of

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

; bright spots are called

facula A facula (plural: faculae ), Latin for "little torch", is literally a "bright spot". The term has several common technical uses. It is used in planetary nomenclature for naming certain surface features of planets and moons,. and is also a type of ...

e and are named after the word snake in various languages. See also

list of craters on Mercury This is a list of named craters on Mercury, the innermost planet of the Solar System ''(for other features, see list of geological features on Mercury)''. Most Mercurian craters are named after famous writers, artists and composers. Accor ...

list of albedo features on Mercury This is a list of the albedo features of the planet Mercury as seen by early telescopic observation. Early telescopic observations of Mercury were based on the assumption that Mercury keeps one of its faces permanently turned toward the Sun, th ...

, and

list of quadrangles on Mercury The surface of the planet Mercury (planet), Mercury has been divided into fifteen quadrangle (geography), quadrangles, designated H-1 to H-15 (the 'H' stands for Hermes, the Greek equivalent of Mercury). The quadrangles are named for prominent surf ...

Longitude is west longitude.

List of geological features on Mercury

References

* Batson R.M., Russell J.F. (1994), ''Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature'', United States Geological Survey Bulletin 212

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geological features on Mercury Surface features of Mercury, * Mercury Mercury (planet)-related lists