What Is the Most Obvious Physical Feature On the Planet Mercury and How Many Impact Craters Does Mercury Have?

What Is the Most Obvious Physical Feature On the Planet Mercury and How Many Impact Craters Does Mercury Have?

The largest topographic feature seen on Mercury is the Carolis Basin, a depression as wide as Texas about 800 miles (1,280 km in diameter).

It is bordered on one side by tall mountains, called scarps, which can reach over 1 mile (1.6 km) in height.

The impact that created the Caloris Basin was so powerful that it caused lava eruptions and left a concentric ring over 2 km tall surrounding the impact crater.

About 15 impact basins have been identified on the planet Mercury.

The surface of Mercury has experienced much of the effects of space weathering processes just like our moon has.