Aristarchus Rille

Sinuous rilles formed from massive outpourings of molten lava. This example originates on the Aristarchus Plateau and is the largest on the Moon; it extends for over 150 km, is 4 km wide, and over 500 m deep at its midpoint. It is also distinguished by a rille within a rille, telling the story of an initial massive eruption of very fluid magma that carved the larger channel and then later a smaller eruption that formed the smaller channel.

Latitude: 26.1°
Longitude: 308.45°
Camera: NAC
Image Width: 65.0 km
Image(s): M1139200485LR
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