Peak Ring

Central uplift characterized by a ring of peaks rather than a single peak. Peak rings are typical of larger terrestrial craters above ~50 km in diameter.

Barton CraterBowl-like depression ("crater" means "cup" in Latin) on the surface of a planet, moon, or asteroid. Craters range in size from a few centimeters to over 1,000 km across, and are mostly caused by impact or by volcanic activity, though some are due to cryovolcanism. Click on Term to Read More on Venus. This 54-km (32-mi) diameter crater is the size at which craters on Venus begin to possess peak-rings instead of a single central peakExposed core of uplifted rocks in center of a complex impact crater. Central peak material typically shows evidence of intense fracturing, faulting, and shock metamorphism. Click on Term to Read More. The floor of the crater is flat and radar-dark, indicating possible infilling by lavaHot molten or semifluid rock derived from a volcano or surface fissure from a differentiated and magmatically active parent body. Click on Term to Read More flows sometime following the impact. Barton’s central peak-ring is discontinuous and appears to have been disrupted or separated during or following the cratering process.