This is a list of geological features on Mercury. Different types of features are named after different things: Mercurian ridges are called dorsa, and are named after astronomers who made detailed studies of the planet; valleys are called valles, and are named after radio telescope facilities; plains are called planitiae, and most are named after mythological names associated with Mercury; and escarpments are called rupes and are named after the ships of famous explorers.
See also list of craters on Mercury and list of albedo features on Mercury.
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| Feature
| Latitude
| Longitude
| Named after
|
| Mountains
|
| Caloris Montes | 39.4 | 187.2 | Latin for 'heat's mountains'
|
| Ridges
|
| Antoniadi Dorsum | 25.1 | 30.5 | Eugène Antoniadi
|
| Schiaparelli Dorsum | 23 | 164.1 | Giovanni Schiaparelli
|
| Valleys
|
| Arecibo Vallis | -27.5 | 28.4 | Arecibo Observatory
|
| Goldstone Vallis | -15.8 | 31.7 | Goldstone Observatory
|
| Haystack Vallis | 4.7 | 46.2 | Haystack Observatory
|
| Simeiz Vallis | -13.2 | 64.3 | Simeiz Observatory
|
| Plains
|
| Borealis Planitia | 73.4 | 79.5 | Latin for 'northern plain'
|
| Budh Planitia | 22 | 150.9 | Hindu word for Mercury.
|
| Caloris Planitia | 30.5 | 189.8 | Latin for 'heat's plain'
|
| Odin Planitia | 23.3 | 171.6 | Norse god Odin
|
| Sobkou Planitia | 39.9 | 129.9 | Messenger god.
|
| Suisei Planitia | 59.2 | 150.8 | Japanese for Mercury.
|
| Tir Planitia | 0.8 | 176.1 | Norse for Mercury.
|
| Escarpments
|
| Adventure Rupes | -65.1 | 65.5 | Ship of Captain Cook
|
| Astrolabe Rupes | -42.6 | 70.7 | Ship of Jules Dumont d'Urville
|
| Discovery Rupes | -56.3 | 38.3 | Ship of Captain Cook
|
| Endeavour Rupes | 37.5 | 31.3 | Endeavour, ship of Captain Cook
|
| Fram Rupes | -56.9 | 93.3 | Fram, ship of Fridtjof Nansen, Otto Sverdrup and Roald Amundsen
|
| Gjöa Rupes | -66.7 | 159.3 | Ship of Roald Amundsen
|
| Heemskerck Rupes | 25.9 | 125.3 | Ship of Abel Tasman
|
| Hero Rupes | -58.4 | 171.4 | Ship of Nathaniel Palmer
|
| Mirni Rupes | -37.3 | 39.9 | Ship of Fabian von Bellingshausen
|
| Pourquoi-Pas Rupes | -58.1 | 156 | Ship of Jean-Baptiste Charcot
|
| Resolution Rupes | -63.8 | 51.7 | Resolution, ship of Captain Cook
|
| Santa María Rupes | 5.5 | 19.7 | Ship of Christopher Columbus
|
| Victoria Rupes | 50.9 | 31.1 | Ship of Ferdinand Magellan
|
| Vostok Rupes | -37.7 | 19.5 | Ship of Fabian von Bellingshausen
|
| Zarya Rupes | -42.8 | 20.5 | Zarya, a Russian experimental schooner
|
| Zeehaen Rupes | 51 | 157 | Ship of Jules Dumont d'Urville
|
References
- Batson R.M., Russell J.F. (1994), Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, United States Geological Survey Bulletin 2129 *
Mercury | Surface feature nomenclature of solar system bodies | Liste des caractéristiques géologiques de Mercure