Terra Nivium

Terra Nivium (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "Land of Snows") is a roughly triangular highland region on the

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 ...

. In his ''Almagestum novum'', the notable selenographer

Giovanni Riccioli Giovanni Battista Riccioli, Society of Jesus, SJ (17 April 1598 – 25 June 1671) was an Italian astronomer and a Catholic church, Catholic priest in the Jesuit order. He is known, among other things, for his experiments with pendulums and with f ...

named the various highland regions terrae. However, unlike his naming scheme for

crater Crater may refer to: Landforms *Impact crater, a depression caused by two celestial bodies impacting each other, such as a meteorite hitting a planet *Explosion crater, a hole formed in the ground produced by an explosion near or below the surfac ...

s and

lunar maria The lunar maria (; singular: mare ) are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by ancient asteroid impacts on the far side on the Moon that triggered volcanic activity on the opposite (near) side. They were dubbed , Latin for 'seas' ...

, his nomenclature for the continental areas of the Moon never came into common use. It lies to the north of the

Mare Vaporum Mare Vaporum (Latin ''vapōrum'', the "sea of vapors") is a lunar mare located between the southwest rim of Mare Serenitatis and the southeast rim of Mare Imbrium. It was named by Giovanni Battista Riccioli in 1651.''Autostar Suite Astronomer ...

and is bounded along the northwest by the rugged

Montes Apenninus Montes Apenninus are a rugged mountain range on the northern part of the Moon's near side. They are named after the Apennine Mountains in Italy. With their formation dating back about 3.9 billion years, Montes Apenninus are fairly old. Descri ...

range, and to the northeast by the less impressive Montes Haemus mountains. Portions of this area have been penetrated by flows of magma that connect to the Mare Vaporum. This irregular area contains a number of smaller depressions that have become covered in flows of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

s. These form what are essentially miniature lunar maria. They are clustered near the southern borders of the area, and fill much of the terrain between Mare Vaporum and the Montes Haemus. These mare-like features are generally irregular in shape, and many are joined through gaps between the more rugged islands of continental terrain. These areas are listed in the table below, ordered from west to east. The listed diameter corresponds to the smallest circle that fully contains the feature. Terra Nivium 2

{, class="wikitable" !Latin Name !Translation !

Latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

Longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east–west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek letter l ...

Diameter In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest chord of the circle. Both definitions are also valid for ...

, - , Sinus Fidei , Bay of Faith , align="right", 18.0° N , align="right", 2.0° E , align="right", 70 km , - , Lacus Felicitatis , Lake of Happiness , align="right", 19.0° N , align="right", 5.0° E , align="right", 90 km , - , Lacus Odii , Lake of Hate , align="right", 19.0° N , align="right", 7.0° E , align="right", 70 km , - ,

Lacus Doloris Lacus Doloris (Latin ''dolōris'', "Lake of Sorrow") is a small lunar mare The lunar maria (; singular: mare ) are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by ancient asteroid impacts on the far side on the Moon that triggered volc ...

, Lake of Sorrow , align="right", 17.1° N , align="right", 9.0° E , align="right", 110 km , - , Lacus Lenitatis , Lake of Tenderness , align="right", 14.0° N , align="right", 12.0° E , align="right", 80 km , - , Lacus Gaudii , Lake of Delight , align="right", 16.2° N , align="right", 12.6° E , align="right", 113 km , - , Lacus Hiemalis , Lake of Winter , align="right", 15.0° N , align="right", 14.0° E , align="right", 50 km Nivium