Kies is the remnant of a lunar

Moon

The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...

 crater

Impact crater

In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...

 that has been flooded by basalt

Basalt

Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...

ic lava

Lava

Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...

, leaving only a remnant of the outer rim. It is located in the Mare Nubium

Mare Nubium

Mare Nubium is a lunar mare in the Nubium basin on the Moon's near side. The mare is located just to the southeast of Oceanus Procellarum. The actual basin is believed to be of Pre-Nectarian system, with the surrounding basin material being of the Lower Imbrian epoch. The mare material is of the...

 almost due south of the crater Bullialdus

Bullialdus (crater)

Bullialdus is a lunar impact crater located in the western part of the Mare Nubium. To the north by north-west is the broken-rimmed and lava-flooded crater Lubiniezky. South-west of Bullialdus lies the smaller crater König....

. Northwest of Kies is König

König (crater)

König is a lunar crater on the southwest Mare Nubium. It lies to the southwest of the prominent crater Bullialdus, and northwest of the flooded Kies. The rim of König is somewhat polygonal in outline, with a small outward bulge to the south and only a slight outer rampart. The crater interior is...

. To the south-southwest lies a lunar dome

Lunar dome

A lunar dome is a type of shield volcano that is found on the surface of the Earth's Moon. They are typically formed by highly viscous, possibly silica-rich lava, erupting from localized vents followed by relatively slow cooling. Lunar domes are wide, rounded, circular features with a gentle slope...

 structure designated Kies Pi (π). It has a small crater at the top, and is most likely volcanic in origin.

The rim of Kies has numerous gaps, and forms a series of ridges in a ring-shaped formation. The most intact rim structures lie in the south and northeast sections of the wall. A low promontory ridge is attached to the southern end of the rim, pointing southwards.

Satellite craters

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater mid-point that is closest to Kies.

Kies	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
A	28.3° S	22.7° W	16 km
B	28.7° S	21.9° W	9 km
C	26.0° S	26.1° W	5 km
D	24.9° S	18.5° W	6 km
E	28.7° S	22.7° W	6 km