Vavilov is a prominent impact 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 to the west of the walled plain Hertzsprung

Hertzsprung (crater)

Hertzsprung is an enormous lunar crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, beyond the western limb. In dimension, this formation is larger than several of the lunar mare areas on the near side. It lies in the northwestern fringe of the blast radius of the Mare Orientale impact basin...

. It is located on the far side 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...

 and cannot be viewed directly from the Earth

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

. About a crater diameter to the northwest is the smaller Chaucer

Chaucer (crater)

Chaucer is a lunar impact crater that is located to the west of the walled plain Hertzsprung, on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the northwest of the crater Vavilov and east of the Tsander–Kibal'chich crater pair. This is a circular crater with a slightly eroded outer rim...

, and farther to the southwest is Sechenov

Sechenov (crater)

Sechenov is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the southwest of the huge walled plain Hertzsprung, and to the east-southeast of the crater Timiryazev. To the south-southeast of Sechenov lies Paschen....

.

This is a relatively young impact that still retains the faint remnants of a ray system

Ray system

A ray system comprises radial streaks of fine ejecta thrown out during the formation of an impact crater, looking a bit like many thin spokes coming from the hub of a wheel. The rays can extend for lengths up to several times the diameter of their originating crater, and are often accompanied by...

. Just outside the rim is a shadowed area, with the rays beginning about one-third of a crater diameter distant. The faint rays extend for several crater diameters in all directions.

Vavilov is a well-defined feature that has undergone a minimum of erosion due to subsequent impacts. The outer rim is roughly circular, with a pair of slight outward bulges to the southeast. The inner walls of the rim display several terraces, particularly to the southeast. The interior floor is roughly level, with a central ridge offset to the west of the mid-point, and some low hills in the southeast.

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 Vavilov.

Vavilov	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
D	0.1° S	137.1° W	102 km
K	5.2° S	135.5° W	30 km
P	3.4° S	139.6° W	23 km