Terra Nivium is a roughly triangular highland region on the Moon

Moon

The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...

. In his Almagestum novum, the notable selenographer Giovanni Riccioli named the various highland regions terrae. However, unlike his naming scheme for 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...

s and lunar maria

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...

, his nomenclature for the continental areas of the Moon never came into common use.

It lies to the north of the Mare Vaporum

Mare Vaporum

Mare Vaporum is a lunar mare located between the southwest rim of Mare Serenitatis and the southeast rim of Mare Imbrium. The lunar material surrounding the mare is from the Lower Imbrian epoch, and the mare material is from the Eratosthenian epoch. The mare lies in an old basin or crater that is...

 and is bounded along the northwest by the rugged Montes Apenninus

Montes Apenninus

Montes Apenninus are a rugged mountain range on the northern part of the Moon's near side. They are named after the Apennine Mountains in Italy....

 range, and to the northeast by the less impressive Montes Haemus

Montes Haemus

Montes Haemus is a curving range of mountains that forms the southwestern edge of the Mare Serenitatis basin on the Moon. They form a less prominent mirror image of the Montes Apenninus range to the west, and curve up to nearly join at the northern end. The eastern edge terminates with the...

 mountains. Portions of this area have been penetrated by flows of magma that connect to the Mare Vaporum.

This irregular area contains a number of smaller depressions that have become covered in flows of basalt

Basalt

Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...

ic 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...

s. These form what are essentially miniature lunar maria. They are clustered near the southern borders of the area, and fill much of the terrain between Mare Vaporum and the Montes Haemus. These mare-like features are generally irregular in shape, and many are joined together through gaps between the more rugged islands of continental terrain.

These areas are listed in the table below, ordered from west to east. The listed diameter corresponds to the smallest circle that fully contains the feature.

Latin Name	Translation	Latitude Latitude In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...	Longitude Longitude Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....	Diameter Diameter In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints are on the circle. The diameters are the longest chords of the circle...
Sinus Fidei Sinus Fidei Sinus Fidei is a small basaltic mare feature in the Terra Nivium region of the Moon....	Bay of Faith	18.0° N	2.0° E	70 km
Lacus Felicitatis Lacus Felicitatis Lacus Felicitatis is a small patch of the lunar surface that has been inundated by flows of lava, leaving a level patch with a lower albedo than the surrounding ground. It is located in Terra Nivium, an area of continental ground to the north of the Mare Vaporum...	Lake of Luck	19.0° N	5.0° E	90 km
Lacus Odii Lacus Odii Lacus Odii is a small lunar mare in the Terra Nivium region on the Moon. It is located at 19.0° N, 7.0° E and is 70 km in diameter....	Lake of Hate	19.0° N	7.0° E	70 km
Lacus Doloris Lacus Doloris Lacus Doloris is a small lunar mare located in the Terra Nivium region at 17.1° N, 9.0° E. It is 110 km in diameter....	Lake of Sorrow	17.1° N	9.0° E	110 km
Lacus Lenitatis Lacus Lenitatis Lacus Lenitatis is a small lunar mare in the Terra Nivium region on the Moon. It is located at 14.0° N, 12.0° E and is 80 km in diameter....	Lake of Tenderness	14.0° N	12.0° E	80 km
Lacus Gaudii Lacus Gaudii Lacus Gaudii is a small lunar mare in the Terra Nivium region of the Moon. It is located at 16.2° N, 12.6° E and is 113 km in diameter....	Lake of Delight	16.2° N	12.6° E	113 km
Lacus Hiemalis Lacus Hiemalis Lacus Hiemalis is a small lunar mare in the Terra Nivium region on the Moon. It is located at 15.0° N, 14.0° E and is 50 km in diameter....	Lake of Winter	15.0° N	14.0° E	50 km