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Pit Crater

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Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms

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Definition

Pit craters are circular to elliptical, rimless, steep-sided depressions usually associated with either volcanic and/or tectonic landforms (e.g., Carr and Greeley 1980; Okubo and Martel 1998; Wyrick et al. 2004; Ferrill et al. 2004, 2011; Halliday et al. 2011).

Category

A type of pit.

Synonyms

Collapse crater; Collapse pit; Subsidence crater

Description

Pit craters are rimless, circular to elliptical depressions that have steep inner walls, giving them a conical, bowl, or cylindrical shape, with or without a flat floor (e.g., Okubo and Martel 1998; Wyrick et al. 2004; Ferrill et al. 2011). Their diameter often increases with time via wall slumping. Due to their frequent association with basaltic shield volcanoes, they are often inferred to have formed by volcanic collapse processes (Carr and Greeley 1980; Okubo and Martel 1998; Halliday et al. 2011). Some pit craters are also associated with tectonic features, such as rift zones (e.g., Roche et al. 2001), which establish...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Planetologie, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Wilhelm-Klemm-Str. 10, 48149, Münster, Germany

    Carolyn H. van der Bogert

  2. Department of Earth, Material, and Planetary Sciences, Geosciences and Engineering Division, Southwest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Road, San Antonio, TX, 78240, USA

    David A. Ferrill

  3. Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera Science Operations Center, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    James W. Ashley

Authors
  1. Carolyn H. van der Bogert
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  2. David A. Ferrill
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  3. James W. Ashley
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carolyn H. van der Bogert .

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van der Bogert, C.H., Ferrill, D.A., Ashley, J.W. (2015). Pit Crater. In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_260-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_260-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9213-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Pit Crater
    Published:
    11 February 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_260-2

  2. Original

    Pit Crater
    Published:
    05 September 2014

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_260-1

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