Wolf (crater)
Encyclopedia
Wolf 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 lies in the south-central part of 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...

, a lunar mare
Lunar mare
The lunar maria are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by ancient volcanic eruptions. They were dubbed maria, Latin for "seas", by early astronomers who mistook them for actual seas. They are less reflective than the "highlands" as a result of their iron-rich compositions, and...

 in the southern hemisphere 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 lies to the north-northwest of the walled plain Pitatus
Pitatus (crater)
Pitatus is an ancient lunar impact crater located at the southern edge of Mare Nubium. Joined to the northwest rim is the crater Hesiodus, and the two are joined by a narrow cleft. To the south lie the attached Wurzelbauer and Gauricus....

, and east-southeast of the prominent 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....

.

The interior floor of this crater has been completely 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 an irregular, broken rim projecting slightly above the surface. The surviving rim is not quite circular, having outward bulges to the north and west. It rises to a maximum height of about 0.7 km. The smaller crater Wolf B has overlaid the southern rim, and the two have now merged into one formation. Low ridges connect to the exterior rim to the east and south.

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 Wolf.
Wolf Latitude Longitude Diameter
A 22.2° S 18.4° W 6 km
B 23.1° S 16.4° W 17 km
C 24.1° S 14.5° W 3 km
E 23.9° S 16.3° W 2 km
F 22.0° S 14.9° W 3 km
G 22.5° S 16.8° W 7 km
H 23.0° S 14.7° W 8 km
S 21.2° S 16.5° W 35 km
T 23.4° S 18.8° W 27 km
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