Geological Chronicle
Herodotus is a lunar impact crater located on a low shelf in the midst of Oceanus Procellarum. To the east is the slightly larger crater Aristarchus, while Schiaparelli lies west across the mare. Almost due south on the mare surface is a solitary lunar dome designated Herodotus Omega (ω).
The crater has a slightly irregular, narrow rim that appears somewhat oblong due to foreshortening, and is unusually thin in relation to its size. A small craterlet overlaps the northwest rim, but the outer wall has otherwise not suffered significant wear. Its inner floor has been flooded with lava, giving it a lower albedo than its brighter and more prominent neighbor Aristarchus.
To the north of Herodotus is the start of Vallis Schröteri, a valley with a length of 160 kilometers and a maximum depth of nearly a kilometer. Beginning at a small crater 25 kilometers north of the rim, the valley winds north, turns northwest, and then heads southwest before coming to a precipitous end at the edge of the raised shelf on which Herodotus is located. The valley is wider at its crater head than elsewhere, earning it the nickname "Cobra Head".