LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Mercury (Planet): Crust
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Strom: Mercury How did Mercury get such an enormous iron core? Why is its tectonic framework so different from any other planet or satellite? What is its crystal composition? Why is the crust so depleted in iron when the interior is so rich in that element? What are the polar deposits? Where do the elements in the exosphere come from?
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Mercury ranks about 67th in natural abundance among the elements in crustal rocks. It occurs in its pure form or combined with silver in small amounts but is found most often in the ore cinnabar, a mineral consisting of mercuric sulfide (HgS). The metal is obtained from cinnabar by heating the ore in air until the mercuric sulfide breaks down, yielding pure mercury metal.
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Mercury consists of a large iron core covered with a rocky mantle and crust. This outer layer presumably consists of rather ordinary silicates, not unlike what the Earth’s crust is made of. Such material has a melting point of 1200 K (927 degrees C) or higher, so even though Mercury is very hot at 720 K (447 degrees C), it is nowhere near hot enough to melt rock.
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"Weird terrain" best describes this hilly, lineated region of Mercury. Scientists note that this area is at the antipodal point to the large Caloris basin. The shock wave produced by the Caloris impact may have been reflected and focused to the antipodal point... jumbling the crust and breaking it into a series of complex blocks. The area covered is about 800 km (497 mi) on a side.
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Crust