Definition
Small (less than several km) mounds of circular to elliptic outline with positive conical relief displaying a central depression (Wood 1979); without genetic implications.
Subtypes
- (1)
Small cone: circular to elliptical cone-like features, <100 m high, <3 km across. They formed along fissures or in maria. Type example: Isis, Osiris (Head 1975) (Fig. 1). They are interpreted as cinder cones or maars (Wood 1979). Isis, Osiris, and Mons Esam are aligned linearly and are interpreted to have formed by eruptions associated with near-surface dikes (Weitz and Head 1999). The cones associated with the rille Rima Parry V in Fra Mauro crater are also aligned linearly, parallel to an adjacent graben, and do not exhibit lava flows. They are proposed to be spatter cones (Head and Wilson 1993; Weitz and Head 1999).
Mesoscale Positive-Relief Landforms (Moon), Fig. 1 
Small pyroclastic cones at 18.8°N 27.5°E. Scale bar 10 km. LROC Observation M117311547M (NASA/GSFC/ASU)
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Head JW (1975) Morphology of pyroclastic lunar volcanic deposits: implications for eruption conditions and localized sources of volatiles. Lunar Planet Sci Conf VI:349–351
Head JW III, Wilson L (1993) Lunar graben formation due to near-surface deformation accompanying dike emplacement. Planet Space Sci 41(10):719–727
Weitz CM, Head JW (1999) Spectral properties of the Marius Hills volcanic complex and implications for the formation of lunar domes and cones. J Geophys Res 104(E8):18933–18956
Wood CA (1979) Cinder cones on Earth, Moon and Mars. Lunar Planet Sci Conf XXI:1370–1371
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this entry
Cite this entry
Hargitai, H., Kereszturi, Á. (2015). Mesoscale Positive-Relief Landforms (Moon). In: Hargitai, H., Kereszturi, Á. (eds) Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3_586
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3_586
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-3133-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-3134-3
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences