Lunar Terrain The light areas of the Moon are known as the highlands. The dark features, called maria (Latin for seas), are impact basins that were filled with lava between 4.2 and 1.2 billion years ago.
What is highlands moon?
Lunar Highlands
● Elevated areas on the moon’s surface. ● The lunar highlands are the lighter areas on the moon visible to the naked eye. ● Riddled with craters.
What are the highlands of the Moon called?
It is divided into light areas called the Lunar Highlands and darker areas called Maria (literally, “seas”; the singular is Mare).
What are highlands on the Moon made of?
The maria are composed predominantly of basalt, whereas the highland regions are iron-poor and composed primarily of anorthosite, a rock composed primarily of calcium-rich plagioclase feldspar.
What is the difference between mare and highlands on the Moon?
Maria vs. Highlands
The side facing the earth consists of dark (basaltic) lava filled basins called mare (maria) or seas. The lighter areas are heavily impacted terrain called the highlands. These contrasting features can easily be seen with the naked eye.
What best describes the highlands of the Moon?
The highlands have low, rounded profiles that resemble the oldest, most eroded mountains on Earth (Figure 3a). Because there is no atmosphere or water on the Moon, there has been no wind, water, or ice to carve them into cliffs and sharp peaks, the way we have seen them shaped on Earth.
Are the Moons highlands dark?
From Earth, the lunar highlands appear as light regions while the maria – the lunar plains or “oceans” – appear dark.
Whats the definition of highlands?
high·land ˈhī-lənd. : elevated or mountainous land.
How high are the highlands of the Moon?
2.5 to 3 miles
The Apollo astronauts observed that the highlands are generally about 4 to 5 km (2.5 to 3 miles) above the average lunar surface elevation, while the maria are low-lying plains about 2 to 3 km (1.2 to 1.8 miles) below average elevation.
What are the highlands on the Moon made of quizlet?
The lunar highlands are light-colored areas elevated above the Maria. The highlands are largely made of low-density rocks rich in aluminum. The highlands are much older than the maria and are much more heavily cratered.
What are highlands composed?
Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills.
What type of rock are the highlands on the Moon?
Anorthosite
Anorthosite is an important rock type on the surface of the Moon as it makes up most of the lunar highlands and crust. This sample collected by the astronauts of Apollo 16 has been determined to be 4.19 billion years old.
What caused the mountains highlands to be formed on the Moon?
Early in the moon’s history, there were many gigantic asteroids in the solar system. When these impacted the moon and planets, they formed craters far larger than the ones we see today, forming the lunar maria and leaving their rims to form lunar mountain ranges.
Why does the Moon have mares?
The lunar maria (/ˈmɑːriə/; singular: mare /ˈmɑːreɪ/) are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth’s Moon, formed by ancient asteroid impacts on the far side on the Moon that triggered volcanic activity on the opposite (near) side.
What does mare mean in Moon?
mare, plural maria, any flat, dark plain of lower elevation on the Moon. The term, which in Latin means “sea,” was erroneously applied to such features by telescopic observers of the 17th century.
What are the importance of highlands?
Answer and Explanation: Highland regions provide various important aspects to geography and ecosystems. They serve as sources of minerals as high mountains are subject to weathering phenomena which are enhanced by the slopes and steepness of the geological structures.
What are the main features of the highlands region?
Rising to an average elevation of 3,300 feet (1,000 metres) above sea level, the highlands are characterized by low mountains, hilly uplands, and tabular plateaus and include Mato Grosso Plateau and Paraná Plateau.
What does highlands mean in geography?
Britannica Dictionary definition of HIGHLAND. [count] : an area where there are many mountains or where the land is high above the level of the sea — usually plural. a home in the highlands.
What is two special features of highlands on the Moon?
The highlands are heavily cratered and mountainous. We have learned that the maria are relatively young areas on the Moon which were generated after very large impacts penetrated the crust of our Moon and excavated basins. During later volcanic episodes, liquid magma came to the surface and filled these basins.
What color are lunar highlands?
red
Areas appearing red generally correspond to the lunar highlands, while blue to orange shades indicate the ancient volcanic lava flow of a mare, or lunar sea.
What is the darkest shadow of the Moon called?
the umbra
During a solar eclipse, the Moon actually casts two shadows toward Earth. One shadow is called the umbra which becomes smaller as it reaches the Earth. This is the dark center of the Moon’s shadow. The second shadow is called the penumbra.