Rima Ariadaeus
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Rima Ariadaeus is a linear rille on the lunar surface, situated at coordinates 6°24′N 14°00′E / 6.4°N 14.0°E. Measuring approximately 5 km (3.1 mi) in width and spanning a length of 300 km (186.4 mi), it stretches between Mare Tranquillitatis and Mare Vaporum.[1][2]
Some scientists think that the linear rilles might have formed after large impact events, while others believe that the rilles were formed as a surface manifestation of deep-seated dike systems when the Moon was still volcanically active. Rima Ariadaeus is thought to have been formed when a section of the Moon's crust sank down between two parallel fault lines (making it a graben or fault trough).[3] Rima Ariadaeus shows no trace of associated volcanism and is thus considered to be an end member of the sequence where only pure faulting is involved i.e. a linear rille.[4]
Age
The ridges crossing the rille trough of Rima Ariadaeus and the surrounding plains units have been offset by the trough, proving that the ridges are older than the faults. Some craters are cut off by the faults and are, therefore, older. Other craters lie on the wall of the trough and are younger than the faulting. The faulting must be relatively young because so few craters appear to be younger than the faults, and because the edges of the trough appear to be crisp and little affected by slumping and other mass wasting.[4]