The large impact crater King, shown in an Apollo view, formed as a result of the impact of an asteroid (or comet) onto the lunar surface. King is 76 kilometers across and 5–5.5 kilometers deep. King is a classic complex crater and features a central peak complex, rim terraces, and impact ejecta. Central peaks may be conical in shape or may be a cluster of peaks, as shown here. These peaks are 1.5–2.5 kilometers high. Slumping along the interior of the crater rim has formed a series of step-like terraces 3–4 kilometers wide. Terraces form during the late stages of crater formation when shock-weakened rocks cannot support the crater rim, causing the crater rim to slump downward along concentric faults. In larger craters, the tremendous heat and pressures of impact melt large quantities of rock. This melted rock pooled in the bottom of King, forming the craggy floor of the crater. Impact melt and ejecta were also blasted out of the crater. Several large pools of solidified impact melt can also be seen beyond the crater rim. The largest of these deposits (the flat depression directly above the crater in this view) is 20 kilometers across. Apollo
16 images AS16-M-1870, AS16-M-1871. Right click here to download a high-resolution version of the image (722 KB)
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