What distinctive surface indicator is created when the crust buckles over solidified basaltic lava seas within the lunar maria?
Answer
Wrinkle ridges.
Wrinkle ridges are considered one of the most telling surface indicators of tectonic stress on the Moon. They form predominantly within the maria, which are extensive plains composed of basaltic lava that welled up from the interior long ago. As the Moon's interior continued to cool and contract after these lava seas solidified, the overlying crust was subjected to compressional forces. This stress caused the crust to buckle upward, creating these distinctive, often subtle, ridge structures. The level of sharpness remaining on these ridges is often used by scientists to estimate how recently they were formed, as older ridges appear degraded due to constant micrometeorite bombardment.
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