Pitatus is an ancient lunar impact crater

Impact crater

In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...

 located at the southern edge of Mare Nubium

Mare Nubium

Mare Nubium is a lunar mare in the Nubium basin on the Moon's near side. The mare is located just to the southeast of Oceanus Procellarum. The actual basin is believed to be of Pre-Nectarian system, with the surrounding basin material being of the Lower Imbrian epoch. The mare material is of the...

. Joined to the northwest rim is the crater Hesiodus

Hesiodus (crater)

Hesiodus is a lunar impact crater located on the southern fringes of Mare Nubium, to the northwest of the crater Pitatus. Starting near the northwest rim of Hesiodus is the wide cleft named Rima Hesiodus. This rille runs 300 km east-southeastward to the Palus EpidemiarumThe low rim of Hesiodus is...

, and the two are joined by a narrow cleft. To the south lie the attached Wurzelbauer

Wurzelbauer (crater)

Wurzelbauer is the remnant of a lunar crater. It is located in the rugged terrain on the Moon's southern hemisphere. The slightly smaller crater Gauricus lies next to the eastern rim, while to the north-northeast is Pitatus....

 and Gauricus

Gauricus (crater)

Gauricus is a lunar crater that is located in the rugged southern part of the Moon's near side. Nearly attached to the western rim is the heavily eroded crater Wurzelbauer, and to the north-northwest lies Pitatus....

.

The complex wall of Pitatus is heavily worn, and has been encroached by lava

Lava

Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...

 flows. The rim is lowest to the north, where the lava

Lava

Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...

 almost joins the Mare Imbrium

Mare Imbrium

Mare Imbrium, Latin for "Sea of Showers" or "Sea of Rains", is a vast lunar mare filling a basin on Earth's Moon and one of the larger craters in the Solar System. Mare Imbrium was created when lava flooded the giant crater formed when a very large object hit the Moon long ago...

. Near the middle is a low central peak that is offset to the northwest of center. This peak only rises to a height of 0.5 km.

Pitatus is a floor-fractured crater, meaning it was flooded from the interior by magma

Magma

Magma is a mixture of molten rock, volatiles and solids that is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and is expected to exist on other terrestrial planets. Besides molten rock, magma may also contain suspended crystals and dissolved gas and sometimes also gas bubbles. Magma often collects in...

 intrusion through cracks and openings. (See also Gassendi

Gassendi (crater)

Gassendi is a large lunar crater feature located at the northern edge of Mare Humorum. The formation has been inundated by lava during the formation of the mare, so only the rim and the multiple central peaks remain above the surface. The outer rim is worn and eroded, although it retains a...

 and Posidonius

Posidonius (crater)

Posidonius is a lunar impact crater that is located on the western edge of Mare Serenitatis, to the south of Lacus Somniorum. The crater Chacornac is attached to the southeast rim, and to the north is Daniell....

 for similar features.) The flooded crater floor contains low hills in the east and a system of slender clefts

Rille

Rille is typically used to describe any of the long, narrow depressions in the lunar surface that resemble channels. Typically a rille can be up to several kilometers wide and hundreds of kilometers in length...

 named the Rimae Pitatus. The larger and more spectacular of these rilles follow the edges of the inner walls, especially in the northern and eastern halves. The floor also contains the faint traces of deposited ray markings

Ray system

A ray system comprises radial streaks of fine ejecta thrown out during the formation of an impact crater, looking a bit like many thin spokes coming from the hub of a wheel. The rays can extend for lengths up to several times the diameter of their originating crater, and are often accompanied by...

.

Just to the north of Pitatus in the neighboring mare

Lunar mare

The lunar maria are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by ancient volcanic eruptions. They were dubbed maria, Latin for "seas", by early astronomers who mistook them for actual seas. They are less reflective than the "highlands" as a result of their iron-rich compositions, and...

 is the half-buried rim of a lesser crater, covered in the past when Mare Nubium

Mare Nubium

Mare Nubium is a lunar mare in the Nubium basin on the Moon's near side. The mare is located just to the southeast of Oceanus Procellarum. The actual basin is believed to be of Pre-Nectarian system, with the surrounding basin material being of the Lower Imbrian epoch. The mare material is of the...

was formed.

Satellite craters

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater mid-point that is closest to Pitatus.

Pitatus	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
A	31.4° S	13.2° W	7 km
B	32.3° S	10.4° W	16 km
C	28.4° S	12.4° W	12 km
D	30.9° S	12.0° W	10 km
E	28.9° S	10.1° W	6 km
G	29.8° S	11.4° W	18 km
H	30.5° S	15.7° W	15 km
J	26.5° S	13.5° W	5 km
K	30.4° S	8.9° W	6 km
L	29.1° S	8.6° W	5 km
M	32.1° S	11.0° W	14 km
N	31.2° S	10.9° W	21 km
P	31.0° S	10.9° W	16 km
Q	30.5° S	10.8° W	12 km
R	31.1° S	14.6° W	7 km
S	27.3° S	14.0° W	12 km
T	29.4° S	11.2° W	5 km
V	28.9° S	11.7° W	5 km
W	27.9° S	11.2° W	13 km
X	28.4° S	11.6° W	19 km
Z	28.3° S	10.3° W	25 km