A multi-ringed basin (also a multi-ring impact basin) is not a simple bowl-shaped crater, or a peak ring crater, but one containing multiple concentric

topographic Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary scie ...

rings; a multi-ringed basin could be described as a massive impact crater, surrounded by circular

chains of mountains A mountain chain is a row of high mountain summits, a linear sequence of interconnected or related mountains,Whittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, p 87. . or a contiguous ridge of mountains within a larger m ...

resembling rings on a bull's-eye. A multi-ringed basin may have an area of many thousands of square kilometres. An impact crater of diameter bigger than about is referred to as a ''basin''. __TOC__ Mare Orientale (Lunar Orbiter 4)

The structure of multi-ring basins

In adjacent rings, the ratio of the diameters approximates :1 ≈ 1.41 to 1.''Moons & Planets'', William K. Hartmann, 2005, p.255ff

Formation

To start, a peak ring crater has * one peak-ring, i.e., a crater rim, which is generally circular, ''and'' * a mountainous region which surrounds the basin center. A multi-ringed basin has an important difference, which is multiple peak-rings. In extremely large collisions, following the impact the rebound of the surface can obliterate any trace of the initial impact point. Usually a peak ring crater has a high structure with a

terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...

, and has

slump structures A slump is a form of mass wasting that occurs when a coherent mass of loosely consolidated materials or a rock layer moves a short distance down a slope. Movement is characterized by sliding along a concave-upward or planar surface. Causes of slu ...

inside of it. In 2016, research brought forward new theories about the lunar mare called Mare Orientale on Earth's

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

, as to how it formed. Multi-ring basins are some of the largest, oldest, rarest and least understood of impact craters. There are various theories to explain the formation of multi-ringed basis, however there is currently no consensus.

Examples

* In

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Chicxulub crater The Chicxulub crater () is an impact crater buried underneath the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. Its center is offshore near the community of Chicxulub, after which it is named. It was formed slightly over 66 million years ago when a large ast ...

has a sufficient area to have been a multi-ringed basin, * On the largest

moon of Jupiter There are 82 known Natural satellite, moons of Jupiter, not counting a number of moonlets likely shed from the inner moons. All together, they form a satellite system (astronomy), satellite system which is called the Jovian system. The most mas ...

, Ganymede,

Anubis Crater Anubis (; grc, Ἄνουβις), also known as Inpu, Inpw, Jnpw, or Anpu in Ancient Egyptian () is the god of death, mummification, embalming, the afterlife, cemeteries, tombs, and the Underworld, in ancient Egyptian religion, usually depict ...

is a multi-ringed basin, * On the moon of Saturn,

Dione Dione may refer to: Astronomy *106 Dione, a large main belt asteroid *Dione (moon), a moon of Saturn *Helene (moon), a moon of Saturn sometimes referred to as "Dione B" Mythology *Dione (Titaness), a Titaness in Greek mythology *Dione (mythology) ...

Evander Evander is a masculine given name. It is an anglicization of the Greek name Εὔανδρος (lit. "good man", Latinized ''Evandrus''). It has also been adopted as an anglicization of the Gaelic name Iomhar (the Gaelic variant of the name Ivor) ...

is a multi-ringed basin, * On

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

, Caloris Basin, surrounded by Caloris Montes is a multi-ringed basin, * The Earth's Moon, Mare Orientale is a multi-ringed basin, created by an impactor perhaps in diameter traveling at , or about , * On

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...

moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

Callisto Callisto most commonly refers to: *Callisto (mythology), a nymph *Callisto (moon), a moon of Jupiter Callisto may also refer to: Art and entertainment *''Callisto series'', a sequence of novels by Lin Carter *''Callisto'', a novel by Torsten Kro ...

, Valhalla is a multi-ringed basin.

References

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External links and references

Transition from complex craters to multi‐ringed basins on terrestrial planetary bodies: Scale‐dependent role of the expanding melt cavity and progressive interaction with the displaced zone

Retracing the origins of a massive, multi-ring crater
Impact craters Impact geology

The structure of multi-ring basins

Formation

Examples

See also

References

External links and references