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From deep craters to basaltic plains, the varied surface of the moon has been revealed in stunning detail by the US Geological Survey.

The two sets of maps, compiled by cartographer Trent Hare, include image mosaics and topographical views of the lunar landscape taken over a period of four years.

The grey and white areas reveal higher peaks, while darker blues show deep  craters.  To the left of these craters, is Oceanus Procellarum, which is Latin for 'Ocean of Storms'.

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The two sets of maps include image mosaics (right) and topographical views (right) of the lunar landscape. Darker blue show deep craters, while the grey and white areas reveal areas of elevation

Early theories claimed this mysterious region, roughly 1,600 miles (2,600km) across, was created by an asteroid impact.

Last year, however, Nasa scientists proposed that the Ocean of Storms was in fact the result of the formation of ancient rift valleys.

The feature is located on the surface of the moon's near side which is characterised by low elevations and numerous ancient volcanic plains.

Scientists believe the rifts are buried beneath dark volcanic plains in this area, and so far, they have only been detected in the gravity data provided by the Grail probes.

The map also shows Mare Orientale, an impact crater that was partially flooded by basalts. Shaped like a target ring bull's-eye, the Mare Orientale is one of the most striking large scale lunar features. Found on the moon's extreme western edge, it is difficult to see from an earthbound perspective

Pictured on the left is the moon's south pole, and on the right, the north pole. To create the maps, more than 6.5 billion measurements were collected between 2009 and 2013 by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Wide Angle Camera (Wac) and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

The lava-flooded rift valleys are unlike anything found anywhere else on the moon and may at one time have resembled rift zones on Earth, Mars and Venus.

The map also shows Mare Orientale, an impact crater that was partially flooded by basalts.

Shaped like a target ring bull's-eye, the Mare Orientale is one of the most striking large scale lunar features.

Found on the moon's extreme western edge, it is difficult to see from an earthbound perspective.

It is about 600 miles (950km) across and was formed by the impact of an asteroid sized object which caused ripples in the lunar crust resulting in the concentric circular features.

To create the maps, Mr Hare used more than 6.5 billion measurements collected between 2009 and 2013 by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Wide Angle Camera (Wac) and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).

The images have also been released in black-and-white image mosaic based on the same data using wide angle cameras.

To see a more detailed view of the map, please click here.

To the left of the craters, is Oceanus Procellarum, which Latin for 'Ocean of Storms'. Early theories claimed this mysterious region, which is roughly 1,600 miles (2,600km) across, was created by an asteroid impact. Last year, however, Nasa scientists proposed that the Ocean of Storms was in fact the result of the formation of ancient rift valleys

The south pole can be see on the left, and the north pole on the right. The images have also been released in black-and-white image mosaic based on the same data using wide angle cameras

To create the maps, Mr Hare used more than 6.5 billion measurements collected between 2009 and 2013 by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Wide Angle Camera (Wac) and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)