rille

Moon's carved valley

A rille is a long, narrow channel or trench on the surface of the moon, resembling a dried riverbed or crack.

Rilles vary in origin—some formed from ancient lava flows, others from tectonic activity.

The term appears almost exclusively in lunar geology: The Apollo 15 mission landed near Hadley Rille.

lunar

moon

Natural planetary satellite

  • craterImpact or volcanic basin
  • mareFemale adult equine
  • lavaErupted liquid stone

basalt · volcanism · regolith · Hadley · sinuous · collapsed · tube · Apollo · highlands · ejecta

volcanic

lava tube

Volcanic drainage tunnel

  • collapseSudden structural failure
  • magmaMolten rock underground
  • flowUnbroken forward movement

sinuous · basalt · igneous · eruption · vent · fissure · molten · extrusion · tunnel · subsidence

channel

groove

Narrow cut or routine

conduit · trough · streambed · watercourse · runnel · fissure · ravine · drainage · wash · riverbed

Opposites
topographic feature type

rilledorsum

Anatomical upper surface

mons · crater rim · massif

celestial vs terrestrial geography

rilleriver valley

Erosion-formed watercourse lowland

gorge · ravine · arroyo · gully · riverbed

Family

rift, gully

Familiarity
Top 1,000,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Rated G