Final answer:
The highlands along the edge of a Mare on the Moon have a distinct origin that contrasts with Earth's mountain formations. On Earth, such as in the Western Highlands, mountains are usually formed by the movement and collision of tectonic plates, which can create sharp, well-defined peaks.
Step-by-step explanation:
The highlands on the Moon formed from low-density rock solidifying early in the Moon's history and are heavily cratered due to meteorite impacts, which results in their rounded and low-profile features in contrast to Earth's often sharper mountain ranges.
The Moon, however, does not have tectonic plates like Earth. Lunar mountains in the highlands do not have sharp folds in their ranges, and they instead boast low, rounded profiles that resemble the oldest and most eroded mountains on our planet.
The smooth features of the Moon's highlands are attributed to gradual erosion due to impact cratering from meteorites rather than weathering by wind, water, or ice, because the Moon lacks an atmosphere and liquid water. The lunar highlands are made up of relatively low-density rock that solidified on the cooling Moon, creating the lighter, heavily cratered regions that rise several kilometers higher than the maria and have a high density of impact craters, indicative of their ancient origins dating between 4.1 and 4.4 billion years ago.