The exterior of a planet often reflects its internal workings. On planets with little to no erosion, the surface geology can record billions of years of planetary evolution. Mercury, the smallest planet in our solar system, has not experienced aqueous erosion and as such, is an ideal site for exploring the longest-lived and most ancient planetary processes. These include global contraction (a decrease in planet volume), tidal despinning (slowing of the planets rotation), and reorientation (a shift in the orientation of the rotational axis). Each of these processes contributes to stresses that have influenced the tectonic development of structures like faults and folds in the rocks, often basalts, that cover the surface of the planet. On Earth, regional processes are also recorded in local structures. Studying the development of faults and folds is important for understanding the tectonic context of their structural evolution.Research presented in this dissertation ties together Earth and other-planetary tectonism, deciphering what structures are telling us about planetary evolution. By describing how basalts deform, I relate their deformation to more widespread processes. I present the first quantitative estimates for strain rates from global contraction on Mercury ranging back ~4 Ga, and describe the likely structural style of faulting based on the most detailed tectonic map ever produced of another planet. Results from mapping have also allowed for the constraint of the timing of despinning and reorientation. An investigation of an Earth analogue to these structures, the Yakima Fold Province of central Washington state is also carried out. The structures are represented with a three-dimensional model produced from structural data collected in the field and ~44 km of seismic profile interpretations. Insight into the distribution of deformation across these folds and faults has allowed me to intimately relate the strain observed in the belt to the tectonic setting of the Cenozoic northwest, including the opening of the Basin and Range, subduction of the Juan de Fuca and Farallon plates, and hotspot volcanism in the Snake River Plain.