Geological Chronicle
De La Rue is the remnant of a lunar impact crater, or probably several merged craters; the formation is sometimes called a walled plain. It lies in the Moon’s northeastern region on the near side and appears foreshortened because of its location. De La Rue lies north-northwest of Endymion, just beyond the eastern extreme of Mare Frigoris. The crater Strabo intrudes into its northern rim, while the smaller Thales is attached to the northwest wall.
The perimeter is a disintegrated mass of hills, irregular ground and notches left by old craters. Its northwest half is generally rounded; to the southeast, another formation intrudes and leaves the wall somewhat straightened. The result is a somewhat pear-shaped perimeter. Remnants of small craters lie along the south-southeast rim, and several ghost-crater rims lie on the floor beside the northern inner wall.
Near the midpoint of the relatively flat floor sits the bowl-shaped satellite crater De La Rue J. Rough ground attaches to its southern rim, with low hills just to the west. The inner floor is rougher in the southeast. Many tiny craterlets mark the remaining floor, including a notable pair in the northeast.
De La Rue is named for British astronomer Warren De la Rue (1815–1889), who took some of the first photographs of the Moon. W. William R. Birt and John Lee included his name in lunar nomenclature during the 19th century. The International Astronomical Union formally adopted the designation in 1935.