rupes

{{Short description|Landform on other planets}}

Rupes {{IPAc-en|'|r|uː|p|ᵻ|s}} (plural {{IPAc-en|'|r|uː|p|iː|z}})The two Latin forms, singular rūpes with a short 'e' and plural rūpēs with a long 'e', are spelled the same in English. is the Latin word for 'cliff'.

File:Rupes Recta (LROC287 - recta thumb2).png

It is used in planetary geology to refer to escarpments on other worlds. {{As of|2013|1}}, the IAU has named 62 such features in the Solar System, on Mercury (17), Venus (7), the Moon (8), Mars (23), the asteroids Vesta (2) and Lutetia (2), and Uranus's satellites Miranda (2) and Titania (1).[http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/jsp/append5.jsp USGS Astrogeology: Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature - Feature Types]{{Failed verification|date=October 2016}}

How rupes formed is, {{As of|2008|lc=y}}, a matter of speculation. Compressional strain from the cooling of the crust of terrestrial planets and large-scale displacement due to impacts are the two dominant theories.{{cite web | title = APOD: 21 January 1996 - Mercury's Faults | publisher = APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day) | date = 1996-01-21 | url = http://www.sai.msu.su/apod/ap960121.html | access-date=2008-04-16}}