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The moon, like its parent planet, is covered with mountain ranges, all of which appear to be the broken rims of the huge craters that also dot the surface. Many were named for ranges on earth; thus we have the lunar Alps, Apennines, Caucasus, Cordilleras, Jura, Leibnitz, and Pyrenees Mountains. There are also isolated mountains on the lunar surface.

The vast majority of the lunar mountain ranges are located on the near side (though the Cordilleras and Rook Mountains extend from the near side). Their peaks grow to be as high as 26,000 feet— almost as high as Mt. Everest (29,028 feet).

One major difference between mountains on the moon and their counterparts here on earth is that the latter are constantly being worn away by weather— the air and water eat away at them. On the moon, by contrast, there is no atmosphere to wear away the landscape. In addition, there is no plate tectonics on the moon, which is “geologically dead.” Both these things mean that lunar mountains look essentially the same today as they did millions or even billions of years ago. And that fact makes them valuable to scientists studying the history of the solar system, since these mountains could contain valuable clues to the solar system’s formation 4.6 billion years ago.

The Apollo 15 mission of 1971 made its historic landing in the valley between Montes Hadley and Hadley Delta, and explored the base of these mountains and the neighboring Hadley Rille. The mountains are visible in the background of a photograph of James Irwin with the rover.

When people are living on the moon, they will surely want to climb and explore these magnificent ranges. There may even be scientific bases and even hotels set up there, so visitors can enjoy the splendid view.