When did the bulk of major lunar volcanism, forming the maria, essentially stop?
Answer
Around 3 billion years ago
The period characterized by massive volcanism, which involved spewing out basaltic material to flood the large impact basins and create the visible dark plains known as the maria (seas), reached its conclusion significantly earlier than the Moon's total geological silence. Experts in the early 1970s frequently cited the approximate mark of 3 billion years ago as the moment the Moon effectively ceased this major resurfacing event. While some minor, isolated flows continued after this point, the bulk of the extensive lava plains were established by this time.
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