Lagrange is a
lunar impact crater
An impact crater is a depression (geology), depression in the surface of a solid astronomical body formed by the hypervelocity impact event, impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal c ...
that is attached to the northwestern rim of the crater
Piazzi. It lies near the southwestern limb of the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
, and the appearance is oblong due to foreshortening. To the northwest of this feature is the
Montes Cordillera, a ring-shaped mountain range that surrounds the immense
Mare Orientale impact basin.
The southwestern half of this walled plain has been heavily damaged by the mass of ejecta from Mare Orientale. This material forms an irregular striation in the surface that is radial to the Mare Orientale basin. As a result, only the northeast part of the crater is somewhat intact; the remainder just forms an uneven depression in the surface that is covered in long ridges and gouges. The most notable feature in this section is the small bowl-shaped crater Lagrange D.
The surviving section of the rim is worn and eroded, forming an arc-shaped range of low ridges in the surface. The interior floor in this section is relatively level, but even this surface contains traces of the Mare Orientale ejecta.
Satellite craters
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Lagrange.
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Impact craters on the Moon