Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms

Living Edition

Peak-Ring Structure

  • Joanna MorganEmail author
  • Veronica J. Bray
Living reference work entry
First Online:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_255-1
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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...

Keywords

Peak Ring Central Peak Impact Crater Central Uplift Crater Floor 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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References

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Earth Science and EngineeringImperial College LondonLondonUK
  2. 2.Planetary LaboratoryUniversity of ArizonaTucsonUSA