Definition
Complex impact structure exhibiting a rim crest, a flat floor, and an interior ring or open cluster of peaks, possessing no central peak.
Synonyms
The impact structure: Peak-ring basin; Peak-ring crater; Double-ring basin; Two-ring basin/structure; Ringed crater; Ringed peak crater. The ring: Peak ring; Interior ring
Note
“Peak ring” refers solely to the interior ring of peaks and not a central peak plus ring structure (Protobasin). Some workers classify peak-ring structures as the largest type of complex craters, others as the smallest (simplest) type of basins, more complex than protobasins. For terminology, see Complex Crater and Basin.
Description
As crater size increases, the central peaks characteristic of smaller complex craters give way to a ring of mountains – a peak ring. Peak-ring craters have a single, continuous or semicontinuous, symmetric interior ring of peaks with no central peak.
The transition from complex craters to peak-ring craters/basins involves the...
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References
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Morgan, J., Bray, V.J. (2014). Peak-Ring Structure. In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_255-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_255-1
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