Kiess is 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...

 next to the southern border of the Mare Smythii

Mare Smythii

Mare Smythii is a lunar mare located along the equator on the easternmost edge of the lunar near side. The Smythii basin where the mare is located is of the Pre-Nectarian epoch, while the surrounding features are of the Nectarian system...

, near the eastern limb of the Moon

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...

. It is located to the east of the crater Kästner

Kästner (crater)

Kästner is a lunar crater that is located near the eastern limb of the Moon, to the southwest of the Mare Smythii. Just to the northwest of Kästner is the walled plain Gilbert. To the south is the prominent crater Ansgarius, and to the southwest lies La Pérouse.This formation belongs to the...

, and to the north of Dale

Dale (crater)

Dale is a small lunar crater located in the far eastern part of the Moon's near side, to the south of the Mare Smythii. It lies to the southeast of the larger crater Kastner and northeast of Ansgarius...

 and Kreiken

Kreiken (crater)

Kreiken is a small lunar crater that is located near the eastern limb of the Moon. It lies to the south of the crater Kiess and the Mare Smythii. Just to the south-southwest is the smaller crater Elmer, and to the west is Dale....

.

The interior floor of this crater has been flooded by 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 narrow rim above the surface. This surface has a low albedo

Albedo

Albedo , or reflection coefficient, is the diffuse reflectivity or reflecting power of a surface. It is defined as the ratio of reflected radiation from the surface to incident radiation upon it...

, and is as dark as the neighboring mare. There is a break in the northeastern rim of Kiess where the crater is nearly attached to the somewhat smaller Widmannstätten

Widmannstätten (crater)

Widmannstätten is a lunar crater in the southern part of the Mare Smythii, near the eastern limb of the Moon. The rim of this crater has a wide gap along the western side, where it is joined to the larger Kiess. There is also a gap in the northern rim where the crater floor is joined to the...

, another flooded formation. The overall shape of the rim is slightly elongated in longitude, but it is not overlaid by other craters of note. There are a low ridges on the western interior floor that are concentric to the inner wall.