Lawrence 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...

 that is located on a section of terrain to the east of Mare Tranquillitatis

Mare Tranquillitatis

Mare Tranquillitatis is a lunar mare that sits within the Tranquillitatis basin on the Moon. The mare material within the basin consists of basalt formed in the intermediate to young age group of the Upper Imbrian epoch. The surrounding mountains are thought to be of the Lower Imbrian epoch, but...

 and northwest of Mare Fecunditatis

Mare Fecunditatis

Mare Fecunditatis is a lunar mare which is 840 km in diameter. The Fecuditatis basin formed in the Pre-Nectarian epoch, while the basin material surrounding the mare is of the...

. To the southeast is the larger crater Taruntius

Taruntius (crater)

Taruntius is a lunar crater on the northwestern edge of Mare Fecunditatis. To the northwest is the lava-flooded crater Lawrence, and to the north lie the craters Watts and da Vinci...

. The rille

Rille

Rille is typically used to describe any of the long, narrow depressions in the lunar surface that resemble channels. Typically a rille can be up to several kilometers wide and hundreds of kilometers in length...

 designated Rima Cauchy crosses the eastern part of the Mare Tranquillitatis and reaches as far as the northern rim of Lawrence.

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 shallow ring of a rim projecting above the surface. The rim has breaks in the north and southwest, with the most intact portion in the east.

This crater was previously designated Taruntius M before being named by the IAU

International Astronomical Union

The International Astronomical Union IAU is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy...

.