--- title: Show HN: Point your camera at a landscape to learn about... description: Outcrop is a free iPhone and Android app that overlays geologic maps onto the real world using augmented reality. Point your phone at a canyon wall or ridge... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/show-hn-point-your-camera-at-a-landscape-to-learn-about-its-geology-fm6iu68r5 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Show HN: Point your camera at a landscape to learn about its geology | daily.dev og:description: Outcrop is a free iPhone and Android app that overlays geologic maps onto the real world using augmented reality. Point your phone at a canyon wall or ridge... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/show-hn-point-your-camera-at-a-landscape-to-learn-about-its-geology-fm6iu68r5 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/fM6iu68r5.png og:image:alt: Show HN: Point your camera at a landscape to learn about its geology og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Show HN: Point your camera at a landscape to learn about its geology **[Hacker News](https://daily.dev/sources/hn)** · 3 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Outcrop is a free iPhone and Android app that overlays geologic maps onto the real world using augmented reality. Point your phone at a canyon wall or ridge and it draws the geologic map onto the land, naming the rock unit under the reticle. It pulls bedrock maps worldwide from Macrostrat and ancient plate positions from Christopher Scotese's PALEOMAP maps. You can search for any unit, age, rock or fault, switch to Quaternary deposits and active faults in the US, and save regions for offline use, though fossil finds and live fault data still need a connection. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Is there an app that shows geologic maps in augmented reality on my phone? Outcrop is a free app for iPhone and Android that draws geologic maps onto the land through your camera using augmented reality, naming the rock unit under the reticle. It pulls worldwide bedrock maps from Macrostrat and works offline once an area is saved, though live fault data and fossil finds need a connection. _Developers curious about geo and AR app design can track projects like this one on daily.dev._ ### What data source does Outcrop use for its geologic maps? Outcrop draws its worldwide bedrock and fault maps from Macrostrat, and switches to Quaternary geology data for glacial deposits, river deposits and recently active faults within the US. Ancient plate positions and continental drift animations come from Christopher Scotese's PALEOMAP maps. _Anyone evaluating geospatial and mapping data sources can follow similar projects on daily.dev._ ## Community take How the wider developer community reacted, aggregated from 1 discussion and 33 comments across hackernews (as of 2026-11-01). **TL;DR:** Developers and hobbyists are enthusiastic about the AR geology overlay, praising its execution and asking for more data layers and features, with only scattered bug reports and one complaint about marketing copy. **Sentiment:** 78% positive · 18% mixed · 4% skeptical **The case for** - Several people called the app well done and said they were excited to try it in the field with family. - The offline map support and inclusion of Quaternary/soils layers were appreciated, especially by those without bedrock exposure nearby. - People enjoyed the plate-tectonics animation and 'where it formed' feature. **The pushback** - Some users hit tracking/compatibility issues on certain Android devices, including one phone that couldn't do the motion tracking at all. - The app was hard to find on the Play Store for at least one user due to similarly named apps. - One commenter criticized the subheading copy as sounding AI-generated. **By community** - hackernews (positive): Overwhelmingly enthusiastic reception with active developer engagement addressing bug reports and feature requests. **Open questions** - Will a web version be feasible given the reliance on ARCore/ARKit for the AR features? - Could additional data layers like ASTER/Landsat imagery be integrated for mineralogy use cases? **Highlights** > It's a old Doogee v31gt running android 13 Edit: It looks to be my phone, I just tried it again and it says "This phone can't do the motion tracking Live needs" > — [RobotToaster on hackernews](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50326975) > Is there a web version? I don't like to install apps if avoidable. When the page loads, it shows a blinking animation [1]. I didn't realize it was a loading an interactive background example. Perhaps load a default photo of the grand canyons and add a clock or something until the full version loads. [1] In my phone in the subway, not a very good WiFi nearby. > — [gus\_massa on hackernews · 1 comments](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50305736) > This would be insanely awesome if I could add a data layer or two atop the geologic unit map. This combined with processed ASTER and LANDAST data overlaying the geologic units would make surficial mineralogy so much more exciting when you're out in the field. > — [lightedman on hackernews · 1 comments](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50326135) > atleast re-write your subheading "each rock named" most ai smelling shite ever. > — [Aeroi on hackernews](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50327652) > This is really well done! My 9-year-old and I have been going down the rabbit hole for the last 2 hours. We simply love the ‘Where it formed’ feature. Great job! > — [timothevs on hackernews · 1 comments](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50325981) **Source threads** - [hackernews](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50290533) · 102 points · 33 comments ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Show HN: Today's cities on a globe of Earth's tectonic past and future](https://daily.dev/posts/show-hn-today-s-cities-on-a-globe-of-earth-s-tectonic-past-and-future-fw69sl1zt) · Hacker News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [I ditched Google Maps for an open source alternative that actually delivers](https://daily.dev/posts/i-ditched-google-maps-for-an-open-source-alternative-that-actually-delivers-5les5jdi5) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [: Stop Getting Lost: Why Your Current Navigation App Might Be Holding You Back](https://daily.dev/posts/stop-getting-lost-why-your-current-navigation-app-might-be-holding-you-back-azv3tn21b) · Medium · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [RealityScan Mobile 1.8 Now Available For iOS & Android](https://daily.dev/posts/realityscan-mobile-1-8-now-available-for-ios-android-yp5r4gzuo) · 80 LEVEL · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#mobile](https://daily.dev/tags/mobile), [#ar](https://daily.dev/tags/ar), [#offline-first](https://daily.dev/tags/offline-first) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/show-hn-point-your-camera-at-a-landscape-to-learn-about-its-geology-fm6iu68r5) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Show HN: Point your camera at a landscape to learn about its geology","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/show-hn-point-your-camera-at-a-landscape-to-learn-about-its-geology-fm6iu68r5","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/show-hn-point-your-camera-at-a-landscape-to-learn-about-its-geology-fm6iu68r5"},"datePublished":"2026-11-01T14:52:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-11-01T19:38:31.614Z","description":"Outcrop is a free iPhone and Android app that overlays geologic maps onto the real world using augmented reality. 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