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The geologic diversity of the Moon is illustrated in this 3-D Apollo view of the southeastern edge of the Serenitatis Basin. Most noticeable is the boundary between the rugged highlands (Montes Haemus) and the smooth volcanic plains of Mare Serenitatis. The Montes Haemus (or Haemus Mountains) are part of the prominent 740-kilometer-wide main ring of the Serenitatis Basin, which formed 3.89 billion years ago when an asteroid 50–100 kilometers across slammed into the Moon. These mountains are 2–3 kilometers high, but were probably 5 kilometers high before the basin was flooded a few hundred million years later by basaltic lava flows that formed the smooth plains. Several volcanic pits, 3–5 kilometers across, can be seen along the edge of the mountains. These may have been source vents for some of the lava flows. Right click here to download a high-resolution version of the image (478 KB)
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