Geological Chronicle
Rowland is a large lunar impact crater in the northern far side of the Moon, spanning 166.12 kilometers in diameter. Named for American physicist Henry Augustus Rowland, the old formation has been worn down by a long history of minor impacts. Its outer wall is rounded and irregular, and the rim has eroded until it is nearly level with the surrounding terrain, leaving a circular depression in the surface.
Despite the wear, structural details survive along parts of the crater. Remnants of a terrace can still be discerned in places, particularly along the eastern and southeastern inner wall, and the infrared spectrum of pure crystalline plagioclase has been identified on the crater floor. Outside the crater, the huge walled plain Birkhoff attaches to the eastern rim, while Sommerfeld lies due north within one crater diameter and Chappell sits to the west-southwest.
Smaller craters overlay the structure at multiple points. Rowland Y attaches to the inner wall along the north-northwestern rim, while other craters sit along the southeastern and south-southwestern inner rims, including Rowland N. In the eastern floor, Rowland C forms a double crater with a smaller bowl-shaped formation. To the south of Rowland R, the area is characterized by an extremely high rockfall density by lunar standards.