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Outcrop identification and geology

An exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits at the Earth's surface, visible and accessible for geological observation. Outcrops occur naturally on hillsides, cliff faces, river banks, and coastlines, or are exposed artificially in road cuts, quarries, and excavations. Outcrops are the primary source of field geological data, including rock type, structure, fossil content, and mineralogy. Field: field geology. Example: Roadcut outcrops along the Trans-Canada Highway through the Canadian Shield expose billions of years of geological history, from Archean greenstone belts to Proterozoic sedimentary cover sequences.. Related terms: Exposure, Bedrock, Formation, Strike and dip.

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Sources, scope & corrections

These authoritative resources support category-level nomenclature, terminology, identification methods, and safety. When a specimen-specific safety warning appears, the public-health source listed here directly supports that precaution. They are not line-by-line citations for every other property on this entry, and natural specimens vary.

Editorial owner
GeoMiner
Last updated
2026-03-30T15:19:42.055955+00:00
Review status
Published; not independently peer-reviewed
  • USGS Thesaurus — U.S. Geological Survey. Controlled earth-science terminology used to describe USGS information resources.
  • Glossary of Geologic Terms — U.S. National Park Service. Geologic definitions prepared by the NPS Geologic Resources Inventory.

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Common questions

What does Outcrop mean in geology?
An exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits at the Earth's surface, visible and accessible for geological observation. Outcrops occur naturally on hillsides, cliff faces, river banks, and coastlines, or are exposed artificially in road cuts, quarries, and excavations. Outcrops are the primary source of field geological data, including rock type, structure, fossil content, and mineralogy.
What is an example of Outcrop?
Roadcut outcrops along the Trans-Canada Highway through the Canadian Shield expose billions of years of geological history, from Archean greenstone belts to Proterozoic sedimentary cover sequences.
Which earth-science field uses the term Outcrop?
Outcrop is used in field geology.
Which terms are related to Outcrop?
Related terms in this reference are Exposure, Bedrock, Formation, Strike and dip.

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