Bonpland (crater)

Bonpland
Coordinates8°18′S 17°24′W / 8.3°S 17.4°W / -8.3; -17.4
Diameter60 km
Colongitude17° at sunrise
EponymAimé Bonpland
Bonpland (left side above center) from Apollo 16. NASA photo.

Bonpland is the remains of a lunar impact crater that is attached to the walled plain Fra Mauro to the north and Parry to the east. The intersection of their rims forms a three-pointed mountainous rise. To the southeast is the small crater Tolansky. Bonpland lies on the eastern edge of Mare Cognitum. It is named after Aimé Bonpland, a French explorer and botanist.[1]

Bonpland and its satellite craters

This rim of Bonpland is heavily worn and eroded, with the intrusion of Parry in the east creating a bulging extension to the southeast. The floor has been flooded by lava in the past, leaving a relatively flat surface that is broken by a series of narrow clefts. These are collectively designated the Rimae Parry. The clefts cross the rim to the south and also to the north, extending into the neighboring Fra Mauro.

  1. ^ "Bonpland (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.