Klaproth is an old lunarcrater that lies in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon's near side. Due to its location, this crater appears significantly foreshortened when viewed from the Earth. The southern rim of the crater is overlaid by the similar-sized Casatus crater, and to the north-northeast lies Blancanus crater.
The outer rim of Klaproth has been deeply eroded, incised, and reshaped by a long history of bombardment. The rim to the north and east remains relatively circular, but the original rim along the western face has been overlain by satellite craters 'Klaproth G' and 'Klaproth H', and other impacts. To the south the crater Casatus significantly intrudes into into the interior floor. The remaining floor has been resurfaced by lava in the past, leaving a level and nearly featureless surface that is marked only by a multitude of tiny craterlets. If this walled-plain once possessed a central peak, it no longer exists.
Satellite craters
By convention these features are identified on Lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater mid-point that is closest to Klaproth crater.
Klaproth was born in Wernigerode, Germany, on December 1, 1743.
Klaproth's acceptance of these ideas required some courage since they conflicted with the older theory of phlogiston that had been proposed by his own countryman, Georg Stahl (1660-1734), in the late seventeenth century.
Klaproth deduced the presence of uranium in pitchblende (1789), zirconium in zircon (1789), and titanium in rutile (1795).
Klaproth is located at 69.7 degrees south, 26.0 degrees west, and is south of the very large crater Clavius.
Adjacent to it to the south is the crater Casatus.
The eastern interior wall of the crater Casatus, directly south of and creating a double crater with Klaproth, was extremely bright and wide, revealing the gradual slope of the wall.
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