Some portions of the crust
were forced
to slide
under
others.
b. This cliff extends about 100 kilometers in length, and its vertical face is as much as 2 kilometers tall.
Today we see long, steep cliffs created by this crustal movement.
Mercury's core and mantle shrank . . .
Mercury
. . . causing
Mercury's
crust to
contract.
a. This diagram shows how Mercury's cliffs probably formed as the core shrank and the surface crumpled.