# Outcrop > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Outcrop > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Outcrop.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outcrop > Source revision: 1314046502 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Outcrop" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Outcrop of volcanic rock in Germany An **outcrop** or **rocky outcrop** is a visible exposure of [bedrock](/source/Bedrock) or ancient [superficial deposits](/source/Superficial_deposits) on the surface of the Earth and other [terrestrial planets](/source/Terrestrial_planets).[1] ## Features In most places, bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by [soil](/source/Soil) and vegetation. Where these are removed through [erosion](/source/Erosion), [tectonic uplift](/source/Tectonic_uplift), or excavation by humans, the underlying rock may *crop out*, or be exposed. Most frequently, this occurs on steep hillsides, mountain ridges and mountaintops, river banks, and areas which are tectonically active. For example, [Finland](/source/Finland) has many coastal and [littoral](/source/Littoral) outcrops due to [glacial](/source/Glacier) erosion during the last glacial maximum (c. 11000 BC), followed by scouring by sea waves, then [isostatic uplift](/source/Postglacial_rebound). ## Study Outcrops allow direct observation and sampling of the [bedrock](/source/Bedrock) *[in situ](/source/In_situ)* for [geologic](/source/Geology) analysis and creating [geological maps](/source/Geological_map). In situ measurements are critical for proper analysis of [geological history](/source/Historical_geology) and outcrops are therefore extremely important for understanding the [geologic time scale](/source/Geologic_time_scale) of earth history. Some of the types of information that cannot be obtained except from bedrock outcrops or by precise drilling and coring operations, are [structural geology](/source/Structural_geology) features orientations (e.g. bedding planes, [fold](/source/Fold_(geology)) axes, [foliation](/source/Foliation_(geology))), depositional features orientations (e.g. paleo-current directions, grading, [facies](/source/Facies) changes), [paleomagnetic](/source/Paleomagnetic) orientations. Outcrops are also very important for understanding fossil assemblages, and paleo-environment, and evolution as they provide a record of relative changes within geologic [strata](/source/Stratum). Accurate description, mapping, and sampling for laboratory analysis of outcrops made possible all of the geologic sciences and the development of fundamental geologic laws such as the [law of superposition](/source/Law_of_superposition), the [principle of original horizontality](/source/Principle_of_original_horizontality), [principle of lateral continuity](/source/Principle_of_lateral_continuity), and the [principle of faunal succession](/source/Principle_of_faunal_succession). ## Types of outcrops Outcrops occur in numerous forms, including, but not limited to:[2] - [Cliffs](/source/Cliff) - [Tors](/source/Tor_(rock_formation)) - [Escarpments](/source/Escarpment) - [Inselbergs](/source/Inselberg) ## Examples On [Ordnance Survey](/source/Ordnance_Survey) maps in [Great Britain](/source/Great_Britain), cliffs are distinguished from outcrops: cliffs have a continuous line along the top edge with lines protruding down; outcrops have a continuous line around each area of bare rock. An outcrop example in [California](/source/California) is the [Vasquez Rocks](/source/Vasquez_Rocks), familiar from [location shooting](/source/Location_shooting) use in many [films](/source/Movie), composed of uplifted [sandstone](/source/Sandstone).[3][4] [Yana](/source/Yana%2C_India) is another example of outcrops, located in [Uttara Kannada](/source/Uttara_Kannada) district in [Karnataka](/source/Karnataka), [India](/source/India). - Serrote Branco outcrop in [Caicó](/source/Caic%C3%B3), [Brazil](/source/Brazil) - [Precambrian](/source/Precambrian) outcrop in Finland - [Granite](/source/Granite) outcrops at [Silesian Stones](/source/%C5%9Al%C4%85skie_Kamienie) Mountain in southwestern [Poland](/source/Poland) - Outcrop near [Yana, India](/source/Yana%2C_India) - Outcrop of the [Roubidoux Formation](/source/Roubidoux_Formation) in the [Ozarks](/source/Ozarks) of southern [Missouri](/source/Missouri) - Outcrop in the [Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park](/source/Vasquez_Rocks_Natural_Area_Park) of southern [California](/source/California) - Valley of Desolation in the [Camdeboo National Park](/source/Camdeboo_National_Park) ## See also - [Earth sciences portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Earth_sciences) - [Digital outcrop model](/source/Digital_outcrop_model) – Digital 3D representation of the outcrop surface - [Geological formation](/source/Geological_formation) – Fundamental unit of lithostratigraphy - [Geologic time scale](/source/Geologic_time_scale) – System that relates geologic strata to time - [List of rock formations](/source/List_of_rock_formations) - [Subcrop](/source/Subcrop) – Term in geology - [Floater (geology)](/source/Floater_(geology)) – Rock fragments detached from original outcrop ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Howell, J. V., 1960, *Glossary of Geology and Related Sciences*. Washington, DC: American Geological Institute, pp. 207–208 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Fitzsimons, James A.; Michael, Damian R. (2017-07-01). ["Rocky outcrops: A hard road in the conservation of critical habitats"](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320716308473). *Biological Conservation*. Small Natural Features. **211**: 36–44. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1016/j.biocon.2016.11.019](https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.biocon.2016.11.019). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0006-3207](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0006-3207). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["oxy.edu. Vazquez Rocks. access date:5/22/2010"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110608223233/http://employees.oxy.edu/jerry//vazquez.htm). Archived from [the original](http://employees.oxy.edu/jerry//vazquez.htm) on 2011-06-08. Retrieved 2010-05-24. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["parks.lacounty.gov. Vazquez Rocks Natural Area and Nature Center. access date:5/22/2010"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120920004535/http://parks.lacounty.gov/Parkinfo.asp?URL=cms1_033383.asp&Title=Vasquez%20%20Rocks%20Natural%20Area%20and%20Center). Archived from [the original](http://parks.lacounty.gov/Parkinfo.asp?URL=cms1_033383.asp&Title=Vasquez%20%20Rocks%20Natural%20Area%20and%20Center) on 2012-09-20. Retrieved 2010-05-24. ## External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Outcrops](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Outcrops). - The dictionary definition of [*outcrop*](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Special:Search/outcrop) at Wiktionary Authority control databases National United States Latvia Israel Other Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Outcrop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outcrop) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outcrop?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.