The nearest craters of note are Spallanzani to the south, and the much larger Maurolycus and Barocius to the east.

[1] The crater is named after the 19th-century German astronomer Friedrich Bernhard Gottfried Nicolai.

[3] The outer wall of this crater is worn, with a number of tiny craterlets lying along the rim.

The inner walls slope down relatively smoothly to the flat interior floor filled with lava.

[3] By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Nicolai.