Geological Chronicle
Located in the southern hemisphere on the Moon's far side, Leibnitz is an expansive walled plain measuring 236.67 kilometers across. Formed during the Pre-Nectarian period, the impact structure matches the scale of Clavius on the lunar near side. Its perimeter joins the northeast rim of Von Kármán, with Davisson attached to the eastern flank and Finsen intruding directly into the southeastern rim.
The outer crest of Leibnitz is roughly circular, marked by an outward bulge along the southern face and worn by impact erosion. Basaltic lava resurfaced much of the interior floor, leaving a level expanse with the low albedo of dark lunar maria. Near the northwest inner wall, the flooded crater Leibnitz X survives only as a circular rim projecting above the basalt, while ejecta from Finsen covers the southeastern floor.
Leibnitz also contains a high-albedo lunar swirl linked to a localized magnetic anomaly. These swirls belong to a broader complex of magnetic features spanning Mare Ingenii and the nearby Van de Graaff crater pair. Before formal naming by the International Astronomical Union in 1970, the formation was designated Crater 374.