List of geological features on Mercury

Different types of geological features on the planet Mercury 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 ancient abandoned cities, towns, and settlements; crater chains are called catenae and are named after radio telescope facilities; plains are called planitiae, and most are named after mythological names associated with Mercury; escarpments are called rupes and are named after the ships of famous explorers; long, narrow depressions are called fossae and are named after works of architecture; bright spots are called faculae and are named after the word 'snake' in various languages.

List of geological features on Mercury Feature Center Latitude Center Longitude Named after Montes Caloris Montes 31.46 174.15 Latin for 'mountains of heat' Dorsa Al-Shirazi Dorsum -48.33 162.36 Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi Antoniadi Dorsum 27.20 29.65 Eugène Antoniadi Gan De Dorsum 13.65 313.79 Gan De Peale Dorsum -61.60 1.01 Stanton J. Peale Pettengill Dorsum 79.00 9.96 Gordon Pettengill Schiaparelli Dorsum 23.26 164.30 Giovanni Schiaparelli Somayāji Dorsum 52.99 164.37 Nilakantha Somayaji Trask Dorsum 56.22 333.83 Newell J. Trask Fossae Borobudur Fossae −32.77 271.50 Borobudur Pantheon Fossae 30.19 197.17 The Pantheon, Rome Valles Angkor Vallis 57.28 245.96 Angkor, ancient city in Cambodia Cahokia Vallis 65.55 233.06 Cahokia Mounds, ancient city in Illinois, United States Caral Vallis 62.66 230.71 Caral, ancient city in Peru Paestum Vallis 60.28 233.96 Paestum, ancient city in Campania, Italy Timgad Vallis 60.88 243.56 Timgad, ancient city in Algeria Planitiae Apārangi Planitia 6.70 289.38 Māori word for Mercury Borealis Planitia 67.30 327.40 Latin for 'northern plain' Budh Planitia 19.52 150.46 Hindu word for Mercury Caloris Planitia 31.65 198.02 Latin for 'plain of heat' Lugus Planitia −6.24 98.66 Gaulish equivalent of the Roman god Mercury Mearcair Planitia 31.40 227.90 Irish and Scottish Gaelic word for Mercury Odin Planitia 23.60 169.86 Norse god Odin Otaared Planitia 18.26 337.61 Arabic word for Mercury Papsukkal Planitia −16.25 271.63 Akkadian messenger god Sihtu Planitia −2.82 55.57 Babylonian word for the planet Mercury Sobkou Planitia 39.00 128.02 Ancient Egyptian messenger god Stilbon Planitia 57.54 209.61 Ancient Greek word for Mercury Suisei Planitia 60.88 147.81 Japanese for Mercury Tir Planitia −1.04 176.69 Persian for Mercury Turms Planitia −31.05 350.81 Etruscan messenger god equivalent of Roman god Mercury Utaridi Planitia −65.50 270.17 Swahili name for Mercury Rupēs Acadia Rupes 8.17 329.00 , Canadian hydrographic survey and oceanographic research vessel Adventure Rupes −65.48 65.30 , ship of Captain Cook Alpha Crucis Rupes −12.48 228.31 Alpha Crucis, Brazilian oceanographic research vessel Altair Rupes −70.48 186.49 Altair, Mexican research vessel Alvin Rupes 8.30 208.72 , American deep-ocean research submersible Antares Rupes 18.06 229.42 Antares, Mexican oceanographic research vessel Arquipelago Rupes 7.36 229.31 Arquipelago, Portuguese coastal research vessel Astrolabe Rupes −42.55 70.90 , ship of Jules Dumont d'Urville Beagle Rupes −3.22 259.24 , ship on which Charles Darwin sailed Belgica Rupes −50.45 296.24 , Belgian ship that was the first to winter in the Antarctic Blossom Rupes −3.04 270.15 , English ship that explored the Northwest Passage under Frederick William Beechey Calypso Rupes 19.53 316.48 , oceanographic research vessel of Jacques-Yves Cousteau Carnegie Rupes 58.52 53.25 Carnegie, research vessel used for magnetic surveys Carrasco Rupes −9.66 218.97 BAP Carrasco, Peruvian Navy oceanographic research vessel Challenger Rupes −12.58 109.92 , survey ship used to undertake the first global marine research expedition Chikyu Rupes −53.82 259.62 Chikyū is a Japanese scientific drilling ship built for the IODP Darshak Rupes −14.50 47.42 INS Darshak is a Sandhayak-class hydrographic survey ship in the Indian Navy, under the Eastern Naval Command Discovery Rupes −54.70 37.24 , ship of Captain Cook Duyfken Rupes −20.88 131.93 Duyfken, ship of Willem Janszoon Eltanin Rupes −74.99 269.40 , American icebreaker and Antarctic research vessel Endeavour Rupes 38.36 31.38 , ship of Captain Cook Endurance Rupes 21.60 217.81 Endurance, a British three-masted barquentine led by Ernest Shackleton on the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition Enterprise Rupes −36.54 283.46 , American ship that explored the Mississippi, Amazon, and Madeira Rivers Fram Rupes −57.68 93.20 Fram, ship of Fridtjof Nansen, Otto Sverdrup and Roald Amundsen Gjöa Rupes −66.89 158.50 Gjøa, ship of Roald Amundsen Grönland Rupes 0.92 282.46 Grönland, German research ship Heemskerck Rupes 27.30 124.31 Ship of Abel Tasman Hero Rupes −58.72 171.70 Hero, ship of Nathaniel Palmer Hesperides Rupes −2.98 189.55 BIO Hespérides, is a Spanish polar research vessel Investigator Rupes −25.39 223.96 RV Investigator, is an Australian marine research vessel operated by CSIRO for oceanographic and marine research Kainan Rupes −29.80 330.80 Kainan Maru, Japanese ship of Nobu Shirase Antarctic exploration La Duaphine Rupes 66.30 26.62 Ship of Giovanni da Verrazzano Meteor Rupes −47.70 345.70 Meteor was a German survey vessel noted for her Atlantic Ocean survey work Mirni Rupes −38.54 39.01 Mirny, ship of Mikhail Lazarev Nautilus Rupes −28.23 293.33 , research vessel operated by Robert Ballard Palmer Rupes −26.07 106.28 Nathaniel B. Palmer, American icebreaker and Antarctic research vessel operated Paramour Rupes −0.08 212.54 , English research vessel commanded by Edmond Halley Pelagia Rupes 15.33 218.59 , Dutch research and survey vessel Pourquoi-Pas Rupes −58.54 156.17 Pourquoi-Pas, ship of Jean-Baptiste Charcot Protea Rupes −9.36 203.01 HMSAS Protea was the first hydrographic survey ship used by the South African Naval Service Resolution Rupes −63.25 50.66 , ship of Captain Cook Santa María Rupes 5.81 20.00 Santa María, ship of Christopher Columbus Selen Rupes −8.11 178.92 RV MTA Selen, Turkish research vessel operated by MTA Soya Rupes −6.47 293.37 Sōya was Japan’s first dedicated Antarctic research vessel Tangaroa Rupes 1.04 173.27 RV Tangaroa is a research vessel and icebreaker operated by Earth Sciences New Zealand for marine science and environmental monitoring Terror Rupes −72.06 275.69 , English ship of Arctic and Antarctic exploration Unity Rupes 27.16 275.20 Unity, English ship on which Edmond Halley sailed to Saint Helena Vejas Rupes 35.71 162.25 Vejas, Lithuanian research vessel Victoria Rupes 52.71 34.16 Victoria, ship of Ferdinand Magellan Volasiga Rupes −36.22 146.00 The RFNS Volasiga is an oceanic survey vessel operated by the Republic of Fiji Navy Vostok Rupes −37.88 19.60 Vostok, ship of Fabian von Bellingshausen Xuelong Rupes 57.27 182.87 Xue Long and Xue Long 2 are research vessels belonging to China Yelcho Rupes 23.54 224.11 Yelcho is a Chilean steam-powered cutter that rescued the Endurance crew in Antarctica in 1916 Zapiola Rupes 72.36 44.02 Argentinian ship involved in oceanographic surveys in Southwestern Atlantic Zarya Rupes −42.73 20.42 Zarya, a Soviet experimental schooner Zeehaen Rupes 49.64 158.15 Ship of Abel Tasman Catenae Arecibo Catena −27.58 28.29 Arecibo Observatory Goldstone Catena −15.62 32.02 Goldstone Observatory Haystack Catena 4.42 46.48 Haystack Observatory FaculaeAbeeso Facula 21.70 214.60 Somali word for snakeAgwo Facula 22.40 213.70 Igbo word for snakeAhas Facula −21.37 89.40 Filipino word for snakeAmaru Facula −49.80 349.50 Quechuan word for snakeBibilava Faculae 16.40 202.80 Malagasy word for snakeBitin Facula −51.55 28.45 Cebuano word for snakeCoatl Facula −29.75 216.55 Nahuatl word for snakeEjo Faculae 14.50 200.50 Yoruba word for snakeGata Facula −52.90 321.40 Fijian and Samoan word for snakeHavu Facula −52.22 28.45 Kannada word for snakeIbab Facula 14.50 199.20 Amharic word for snakeInyoka Faculae 14.00 197.70 Zulu and Xhosa word for snakeMaciji Facula 14.90 196.00 Hausa word for snakeMadu Facula −21.24 74.87 Estonian word for snakeNākahi Facula −52.70 342.20 Maori word for snakeNathair Facula 36.00 295.50 Irish and Scottish Gaelic word for snakeNeidr Facula 35.90 302.70 Welsh word for snakeNgu Facula −22.77 90.85 Lao word for snakeNzoka Facula 15.40 194.70 Kamba word for snakeOrm Faculae 26.58 59.68 Swedish word for snakePampu Facula −57.76 31.79 Tamil word for snakeSarpa Facula −53.07 30.87 Sinhalese word for snakeSerp Facula 3.90 309.06 Catalan word for snakeSlang Faculae 24.50 179.30 Afrikaans word for snakeSuge Facula 26.10 300.40 Basque word for snakeThueban Facula 48.70 200.50 Arabic word for snakeUlar Facula −55.10 29.95 Malay word for snakeYinshe Facula −46.32 191.22 Chinese word for silver snakeZmija Facula −37.35 267.75 Serbian word for snake

See also

List of craters on Mercury List of albedo features on Mercury List of quadrangles on Mercury

References

USGS/Mercury: Planetary Names