Geologic map of the central far side of the Moon

This map is one of a series of geologic maps that will cover the entire Moon at a scale of 1:5,000,000. The geology of the central far side is compiled largely from NASA Lunar Orbiter and Apollo photographs and Soviet Zond photographs; the discussion and interpretation of geologic units incorporate the geochemical and geophysical data obtained from orbiting spacecraft. Geologic units are based on the stratigraphic framework established by Shoemaker and Hackman (1962) as subsequently revised (summarized by McCauly, 1967; Wilhelms, 1970; Mutch, 1972; Stuart-Alexander and Wilhelms, 1975). Description of map units is brief because they largely follow units described on the nearside 1:5,000,000 map of Wilhelms and McCauley (1971). The reader unfamiliar with lunar maps, mapping principles, and terminology is referred to that map. Only new units and features or units whose origins are still much in doubt are discussed here.