Geologic map of the Plato Quadrangle of the Moon

The Plato quadrangle in north-central part of the Moon lies within a series of concentric depressed and raised rings surrounding the Imbrium basin, the center of which lies about 335 km southwest of Montes Teneriffe. The innermost raised ring is marked by isolated ridges and peaks within Mare Imbrium itself, including in the Plato quadrangle Montes Recti and Teneriffee. The band of terra including Montes Alpes form part of the second and most prominent raised ring, immediately encircling Mare Imbrium. Mare Frigoris is part of the succeeding depressed ring and the terra in the north of the quadrangle part of the third surrounding ring. It is believed that the Imbrium basin and other multi-ringed basins on the Moon were formed by the impacts of larger bodies (Baldwin, 1949 p. 200-216; Hartmann and Kuiper, 1962; Shoemaker and Hackman, 1962; Wilhelms and McCauley, 1971).