Vallis Rheita is a linear valley on the near side of 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...

. It is located in the southeastern quadrant

Circular sector

A circular sector or circle sector, is the portion of a disk enclosed by two radii and an arc, where the smaller area is known as the minor sector and the larger being the major sector. In the diagram, θ is the central angle in radians, r the radius of the circle, and L is the arc length of the...

, and is oriented radially to Mare Nectaris

Mare Nectaris

The Sea of Nectar is a small lunar mare or sea located between the Sea of Tranquillity and the Sea of Fecundity . Montes Pyrenaeus borders the mare to the west and the large crater near the south center of the mare is known as Rosse...

. This valley appears to share a common origin with the Vallis Snellius

Vallis Snellius

Vallis Snellius is a linear valley on the near side of the Moon. It is located in the rugged southeastern part of the visible surface, to the south of the Mare Fecunditatis. This feature is radial to the Mare Nectaris basin to the west-northwest, much like Vallis Rheita to the southwest, and the...

 to the northeast, as both are oriented radially with Mare Nectaris.

The center of the valley lies at selenographic coordinates

Selenographic coordinates

Selenographic coordinates are used to refer to locations on the surface of Earth's moon. Any position on the lunar surface can be referenced by specifying two numerical values, which are comparable to the latitude and longitude of Earth...

 , and it has a length of 445 km. At its maximum extent this valley has a width of about 30 km, but it narrows to 10 km at the southeastern extreme. It is the second longest such valley on the near side of the Moon, being exceeded only by Vallis Snellius.

Vallis Rheita has been eroded by a series of impacts, and several notable 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 lie along the length of this valley. Near the northwestern end is the crater Rheita

Rheita (crater)

Rheita is a lunar impact crater located in the southwestern sector of the Moon. It lies to the northeast of the crater Metius, and northwest of Young. The southwestern rim overlies the edge of Vallis Rheita, a long lunar valley stretching for over 200 kilometers on a line running northeast to...

, for which this formation was named. Further to the southeast is the crater Young

Young (crater)

Young is a lunar crater that is located in the rugged southeast part of the Moon's near side. It lies to the east of the crater Metius, and southeast of Rheita...

, nearly centered across the valley. Next to Young is Young D, also lying across the valley but less distorted by the rift.

Further southeast are the craters Mallet

Mallet (crater)

Mallet is a crater on the near side of the Moon. It is located next to the linear valley named Vallis Rheita, in the rugged southeastern quadrant. To the northwest along the same valley formation is the crater Young....

 and Reimarus

Reimarus (crater)

Reimarus is a lunar crater, located in the southeastern part of the Moon's near side. The eroded southeastern end of the long Vallis Rheita passes just to the west...

, the later located near the difficult-to-discern terminus. The satellite crater Mallet D, next to Mallet, also overlays part of the valley.