Terra Nivium


Terra Nivium is a roughly triangular highland region on the Moon. In his Almagestum novum, the notable selenographer Giovanni Riccioli named the various highland regions terrae. However, unlike his naming scheme for craters and lunar maria, his nomenclature for the continental areas of the Moon never came into common use.
It lies to the north of the Mare Vaporum and is bounded along the northwest by the rugged Montes Apenninus range, and to the northeast by the less impressive Montes Haemus mountains. Portions of this area have been penetrated by flows of magma that connect to the Mare Vaporum.
This irregular area contains a number of smaller depressions that have become covered in flows of basaltic lavas. These form what are essentially miniature lunar maria. They are clustered near the southern borders of the area, and fill much of the terrain between Mare Vaporum and the Montes Haemus. These mare-like features are generally irregular in shape, and many are joined together through gaps between the more rugged islands of continental terrain.
These areas are listed in the table below, ordered from west to east. The listed diameter corresponds to the smallest circle that fully contains the feature.
Latin NameTranslationLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
Sinus FideiBay of Faith18.0° N2.0° E70 km
Lacus FelicitatisLake of Happiness19.0° N5.0° E90 km
Lacus OdiiLake of Hate19.0° N7.0° E70 km
Lacus DolorisLake of Sorrow17.1° N9.0° E110 km
Lacus LenitatisLake of Tenderness14.0° N12.0° E80 km
Lacus GaudiiLake of Delight16.2° N12.6° E113 km
Lacus HiemalisLake of Winter15.0° N14.0° E50 km