Borealis Planitia

Borealis Planitia
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Part of Borealis Planitia, photographed by MESSENGER
Feature typePlanitia
LocationBorealis quadrangle, Mercury
Coordinates73°24′N 79°30′W / 73.4°N 79.5°W / 73.4; -79.5
Age~3.7 billion years
EponymLatin for "Northern Plain"
Typical Borealis Planitia, north of the crater Monteverdi

Borealis Planitia /bɒriːˈeɪɪs pləˈnɪʃiə/ is a large plain on Mercury with a smooth floor, thought to be similar to a lunar mare. It is centered at 73.4° N, 79.5° W. The name is Latin for Northern Plain.

Borealis Planitia was formed by volcanic activity around 3.7 billion years ago and is the largest region of smooth plains on the planet.

References

  1. ↑ "Borealis Planitia". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. IAU/NASA/USGS. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  2. ↑ Topographic Features and Surface History, Atlas of Mercury (NASA SP-423), 1976
  3. ↑ Wright, Jack; Byrne, Paul K.; Rothery, David A. (September 2021). "Planet Mercury: Volcanism in a theatre of global contraction, with examples from the Hokusai quadrangle" (PDF). Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 417: 11. Retrieved 23 Jun 2026 – via Elsevier Science Direct.
  4. ↑ "Mercury's shadowy north pole revealed by M-CAM 1 (with labels)". European Space Agency. 9 Jan 2025. Retrieved 23 Jun 2026.