Dawes (lunar crater)

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Crater characteristics
Dawes from Apollo 17. NASA photo.
Coordinates	17.2° N, 26.4° E
Diameter	18 km
Depth	2.3 km
Colongitude	334° at sunrise
Eponym	William R. Dawes

Dawes is a lunar impact crater that is located in the wide strait between Mare Serenitatis and Mare Tranquilitatis. To the southwest is the larger Plinius crater. To the northeast is the Mons Argaeus mountainous rise.

This is a circular crater with a sharp rim that has a slightly-flattened oval perimeter. It has a slight central rise, and a somewhat darker floor that is nearly covered in overlapping swirl-like deposits. Much of deposits are slumped or fall-back material. The inner walls are steep and free from impact erosion.

Detailed examination of this crater have located what appear to be alcoves and channels along the inner rim. It is hypothesized that micrometeorite impacts along the rim trigger dry landslides, which produce a gully-like appearance. A similar phenomenon may be responsible for gully-like features along the inner rim of some Martian craters.

[edit] References

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