Look at the Moon tonight. Seriously. Those jagged, silvery silhouettes catching the light along the terminator line aren't just rocks. They’re monsters. When we talk about mountains on the Moon, most people picture the Rockies or the Alps, just... you know, with less oxygen and more dust. But lunar geography is weird. It’s counterintuitive. It’s violent.
Earthly mountains are mostly born from the slow, tectonic grind of plates—continental crust smashing together over millions of years like a slow-motion car wreck. The Moon doesn't do plate tectonics. It hasn't for billions of years. Instead, the massive peaks we see through a backyard telescope are largely the scars of cataclysmic impacts. They are the rim-wrecks of craters so large they swallowed entire regions.
The Violent Birth of Lunar Peaks
Basically, if you see a mountain on the Moon, you’re looking at the aftermath of a prehistoric explosion. Take the Montes Apenninus. This range isn’t just a random pile of rocks; it’s the rugged edge of the Imbrium Basin. When a massive asteroid slammed into the Moon roughly 3.8 billion years ago, it didn't just leave a hole. It displaced so much material that the surrounding crust buckled and heaved upward, creating a ring of mountains that would dwarf most ranges on Earth.
The scale is hard to wrap your head around. We’re talking about peaks that rise five kilometers above the surrounding plains. That’s about 15,000 feet. For context, that’s higher than many of the tallest peaks in the contiguous United States. But because the Moon is smaller, the horizon is closer, which messes with your sense of perspective. If you stood at the base of Mons Huygens—the Moon’s tallest mountain—it wouldn't look like Everest. It would look like a massive, looming wall that eventually disappears over the curve of the world.
Mons Huygens and the "Tallest" Debate
Is Mons Huygens really the tallest? It depends on who you ask and how they measure. On Earth, we use sea level. The Moon doesn't have seas (the "maria" are just dried lava flows, obviously), so scientists use a "mean lunar radius."
Mons Huygens towers at about 5,500 meters. That’s impressive. But here is the kicker: it’s not the highest elevation on the Moon. That honor goes to the Selenean Summit.
This is where it gets technical but cool. The Selenean Summit is a spot on the far side of the Moon that is actually higher than Mons Huygens, but it isn't a "mountain" in the traditional sense. It’s a high-altitude region on the rim of the South Pole-Aitken basin. It’s about 10,780 meters above the lunar mean. That’s nearly 2 kilometers higher than Mount Everest. Imagine standing there. No wind. No sound. Just a desolation that stretches further than the eye can track.
Why Lunar Mountains Look "Soft"
Have you noticed they look... blurry? Even in high-res photos from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)? There’s a reason for that. Earth mountains are sharp because of ice and water erosion. Glaciers carve out "horns" like the Matterhorn. Rain cuts deep valleys.
On the Moon, there is no weather. No rain. No wind.
Instead, there is "gardening." This is the scientific term for the constant bombardment of micrometeorites. For billions of years, tiny grains of space dust have been sandblasting the mountains on the Moon. This process rounds the edges. It turns solid rock into a fine, glass-like powder called regolith. So, while a lunar mountain might be steep, its surface is likely a soft, treacherous slope of pulverized debris. It’s less like climbing granite and more like climbing a giant pile of gray flour.
The Peak of Eternal Light
This sounds like something out of a fantasy novel. It’s real. Near the lunar poles, specifically at the rims of craters like Shackleton, there are mountain peaks that are bathed in near-constant sunlight. Because the Moon’s axis is only tilted about 1.5 degrees, these high-altitude spots never fall into shadow as the Moon rotates.
Why does NASA care? Power.
If we’re going to build a permanent base, we need electricity. Solar panels on a "Peak of Eternal Light" could provide power 24/7. Meanwhile, just a few kilometers away, the deep crater floors stay in permanent darkness, acting as cold traps that hold water ice. It’s the perfect setup: infinite power on the mountain, and a "well" of water in the valley.
The Misconception of Volcanic Peaks
People often ask about lunar volcanoes. "Are there any?" Sort of.
The Marius Hills are a collection of volcanic domes. They look like blisters on the lunar surface. While they are technically mountains, they weren't formed by impacts. They were formed by thick, viscous lava pushing up from below. They are small, usually only a few hundred meters high. They represent a different era of the Moon's life—a time when its interior was hot enough to bleed.
Comparing a Marius Hill to the Montes Caucasus is like comparing a molehill to a skyscraper. The scale difference tells the story of the Moon’s history: a brief period of volcanic activity overshadowed by an era of heavy bombardment.
Real Expert Insights: What the LRO Taught Us
Dr. Noah Petro, a project scientist for the LRO, has often pointed out that our understanding of these structures changed radically once we got laser altimetry data. Before the 2000s, our height estimates for lunar mountains were basically educated guesses based on shadow lengths.
Now? We have 3D maps so precise we can see individual boulders on the slopes of Mons Hadley. Mons Hadley is famous because Apollo 15 landed right at its feet. Dave Scott and Jim Irwin drove the Lunar Roving Vehicle along the base of the mountain near Hadley Rille. Looking at the footage today, the mountain looks like a gentle, rolling hill. It’s an optical illusion. It’s actually a massive massif. The lack of atmosphere means there’s no "haze" to give you a sense of distance. Everything looks closer and smaller than it actually is.
How to See Them Yourself
You don't need a billion-dollar rover.
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- Grab a pair of 10x50 binoculars. - Wait for the First Quarter Moon. This is crucial. When the Moon is full, the sun is directly overhead, and there are no shadows. The mountains look flat and boring.
- Look at the "Terminator." This is the line between light and dark. The long shadows here make the mountains pop in 3D.
- Find the Sea of Rains (Mare Imbrium). The curved mountain wall surrounding it is the Montes Apenninus.
The Future of Lunar Mountaineering
Honestly, the first people to return to the Moon aren't going to be scientists in labs; they’re going to be explorers navigating these slopes. The terrain is brutal. The regolith is electrostatic, meaning it sticks to everything and shreds seals. But the reward? A view of the Earth hanging over a horizon that hasn't changed in three billion years.
Next Steps for Lunar Enthusiasts:
- Download a Moon Map App: Use something like "Lunascope" or the NASA LRO Quickmap. Zoom into the Montes Apenninus and track the heights.
- Study the Apollo 15 Landing Site: Watch the remastered 4K footage of the Hadley-Apennine region. It’s the best visual record we have of what it’s actually like to stand at the foot of a lunar mountain range.
- Monitor the Artemis Program: Follow the updates on the South Pole landings. The mountains there—like the Malapert Massif—are the primary targets for the next decade of human exploration because of their unique lighting conditions.