Caloris Montes
| Mountain range on Mercury | ||
|---|---|---|
| Caloris Montes | ||
|
||
| position | 39 ° 24 ' N , 172 ° 48' E | |
| surface | 1023 km² | |
The Caloris Montes (from the Latin mountains of warmth , heat ) are a mountain range on Mercury .
description
The hills and valleys of the mountain range extend for more than 1000 km on the northeastern edge of the Caloris Planitia , the lowlands of the largest impact crater on Mercury. They consist of numerous, regularly arranged mountain massifs, which mostly run radially from the center of the crater. Their peaks are 1 to 2 km high and around 10 to a maximum of 50 km wide. The surface of the mountain slopes is rugged.
The structure of the Caloris Montes is comparable to the peripheral mountains of the Mare Imbrium on the moon. It is believed that this type of regular structure was created by further impacts that followed the impact that created the crater of Caloris Planitia.
In the southeast of the mountain range this is interrupted by a large gap, the origin of which is still unclear today.
Web links
- Caloris Montes in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature of the IAU (WGPSN) / USGS