From the Earth the crater is viewed nearly from on edge, and is best seen during favorable librations.

This crater formation is only lightly worn, with no significant impacts within its perimeter.

The inner wall is narrower along the north-northeast face where the crater intrudes into Riemann, and the rim is somewhat irregular at the southern end.

The interior floor is fractured,[1] and has a few low ridges located near the midpoint.

Beals was formerly designated Riemann A, a satellite crater of Riemann, until the International Astronomical Union renamed it in 1982 to commemorate Carlyle S. Beals, a Canadian astronomer.