About an equal distance to the east-southeast is Spencer Jones and to the southeast is Papaleksi.

Van Gent also partly overlies what appears to be an older crater remnant to the southeast.

The rim of Van Gent is slightly distorted from a circle due to the craters with which it has formed.

The crater is the final resting place of Chinese micro-satellite Longjiang 2, which was crashed there in mid-2019.

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Van Gent.