Geological Chronicle
Located along the northwestern limb of the Moon, Xenophanes spans 117.57 kilometers across and appears significantly foreshortened from Earth. The formation sits adjacent to Volta to the south-southwest and Cleostratus to the northeast, named for the ancient Greek philosopher Xenophanes of Colophon.
The worn and eroded crater features a battered outer rim overlaid by several smaller craters, forming a circular range of rugged, irregular ground notched along its inner wall. A chain of small craters lies along the northern and northeastern rim, while a pair of clefts at the west end nearly joins the floor to the surface beyond. To the northeast, Xenophanes A forms an impact crater with a sharp rim and a rough interior.
The interior surface remains irregular, though sections were resurfaced by basaltic lava. A pair of flooded crater rims lie along the southern and northeast sections of the interior, while the floor becomes more level and less rough at its eastern end.