Geological Chronicle
Located southeast of Mare Fecunditatis near the southeastern lunar limb, Petavius is one of the largest craters of Lower (Early) Imbrian age. Viewed from Earth, it appears oblong because of foreshortening. Its outer wall is unusually wide in proportion to its 184.06-kilometer diameter, displaying a double rim along the south and west sides. The height of the rim varies by as much as 50% from the lowest point, and a number of ridges radiate outward from the rim. Attached to the northwest rim is the smaller crater Wrottesley, while Palitzsch, Vallis Palitzsch, and Hase sit to the southeast, and Vendelinus lies farther to the north.
The convex crater floor has been resurfaced by lava flow, displaying a rille system named Rimae Petavius. Large central mountains climb 1.7 kilometers above the floor in a prominent formation with multiple peaks. Anorthosite with a very low mafic abundance has been detected in this rise, and the infrared spectrum of pure crystalline plagioclase has been identified. A deep fracture runs from the peaks toward the southwest rim. Rev. T. W. Webb recorded that its east wall rises nearly 11,000 feet (3,400 meters), with its terraces, convex interior, central hill, and cleft vanishing under a Sun risen halfway to the meridian.
Beyond the wide outer rampart, 70-cm radar images show a dark halo characteristic of a smooth surface free of boulders. Radial outbursts during the original impact may have swept the area clean. To the north-northwest, the satellite crater Petavius B has a small ray system across Mare Fecunditatis and is mapped as part of the Copernican System. Lunar Orbiter 5 acquired high-resolution images of Petavius across frames 033, 034, 035, and 036.