A multi-ringed basin (also a multi-ring impact basin) is not a simple bowl-shaped crater, or a peak ring crater, but one containing multiple concentric topographic rings;[1] a multi-ringed basin could be described as a massive impact crater, surrounded by circular chains of mountains[2] resembling rings on a bull's-eye. A multi-ringed basin may have an area of many thousands of square kilometres.[3]
An impact crater of diameter bigger than about 180 miles (290 km) is referred to as a basin.[4]
In adjacent rings, the ratio of the diameters approximates √2:1 ≈ 1.41 to 1.[5][6][7]
To start, a peak ring crater has
A multi-ringed basin has an important difference, which is multiple peak-rings.
In extremely large collisions, following the impact the rebound of the surface can obliterate any trace of the initial impact point. Usually, a peak ring crater has a high structure with a terrace and has slump structures inside of it. In 2016, research brought forward new theories about the formation of the lunar mare called Mare Orientale on Earth's Moon.[8]
Multi-ring basins are some of the largest, oldest, rarest and least understood of impact craters. There are various theories to explain the formation of multi-ringed basins, however there is currently no consensus.[9][10]
Chicxulub crater in Mexico has a sufficient area to have been a multi-ringed basin,[12]
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