outcropping

noun

1. Geology.
   1. a cropping out, as of a stratum or vein at the surface of the earth.
   2. the exposed portion of such a stratum or vein.
2. something that emerges suddenly or violently in the manner of an outcrop; outbreak: an outcrop of student demonstrations.

verb (used without object), out·cropped, out·crop·ping.

3. to crop out, as strata.

noun (ˈaʊtˌkrɒp)

1. part of a rock formation or mineral vein that appears at the surface of the earth
2. an emergence; appearance

verb (ˌaʊtˈkrɒp) -crops, -cropping or -cropped (intr)

3. (of rock strata, mineral veins, etc) to protrude through the surface of the earth
4. another word for crop out

n.1805, in geology, “exposure of rocks at the surface,” from out + crop (n.) in its sense of “sprout, head.”

1. An area of visible bedrock that is not covered with soil.