King Crater and its environs, part M

Superb photographs of King Crater were returned by the Apollo 16 crew. The metric and panoramic cameras provided stereoscopic coverage with which high quality topographic maps may be made. King crater, approximately 75 km in diameter and, on the average, 3.8 km deep, is among the most significant features photographed and visually studied from lunar orbit on the Apollo 16 mission. It is the freshest crater on the far side in its size range and has several unique characteristics. (1) Although its ejecta blanket displays very sharp features, the crater does not appear to have extensive ray systems and secondary crater chains. (2) As depicted for the first time by Apollo 16 photographs, the ejecta blanket is strewn with numerous flow fronts and scarps. (3) A flat and smooth, dark, lavalike deposit 15 km across is on the northern rim of the crater. (4) The central peak of the crater is a Y-shaped structure that begins at the southern rim. (5) Bright units that are aligned with the central peak on the northern wall and rim suggest that a preexisting tabular body was excavated by the cratering process.