How do you measure the depth of a crater?
Zoe Patterson
Updated on April 10, 2026
In respect to this, how do you measure craters?
The principle behind measuring the heights of lunar craters is quite simple: For a given crater the Sun is at an elevation α. The quantity measured is the shadow length s. It is then trivial to work out the height h of the crater, measured from the crater floor to the top of the crater rim.
Furthermore, are the moon's craters the same depth? Apparent depth does not exceed 3400 m on the moon, regardless of crater depth (Fig. 1). This limit is the same for both simple and complex craters, although the sample on which the figure is based for large complex craters is rather small.
Hereof, how deep is a crater?
| Crater Lake | |
|---|---|
| Max. width | 5 mi (8.0 km) |
| Surface area | 20.6 sq mi (53 km2) |
| Average depth | 1,148 ft (350 m) |
| Max. depth | 1,943 ft (592 m) |
How big are the moons craters?
Most craters between 20 and 175 km in diameter and complex craters. Larger impact basins, like the 310 km diameter Schrödinger crater and 330 km diameter Mare Orientale, generally have ring-shaped uplifted regions in the centre of the crater. Impact basins are usually at least 300 km in diameter.