Appleton is a heavily eroded lunar crater that lies in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. To the northwest are the Von Neumann and Campbell craters. The smaller Golovin crater lies to the northeast, while further to the southwest is the Mare Moscoviense lunar mare.

The crater wall and interior have been heavily eroded by many subsequent impacts, leaving the features rounded and irregular. A pair of craters lie across the southwestern rim, and two small craterlets lie along the eastern rim. The interior floor is irregular and contains many tiny craterlets.

Appleton lies between a pair of satellite craters that are located on opposite sides of the rim, forming a triple formation. The 'Appleton R' crater is located just to the west-southwest, and contains another crater just inside its north rim. On the opposite side of Appleton is 'Appleton D', a comparably-sized formation to 'Appleton R'.

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 Appleton crater.