# EarthViewer

> Education

Canonical page: [https://chrome-stats.com/d/id590208430](https://chrome-stats.com/d/id590208430)

## Overview

- **ID:** `id590208430`
- **Platform:** Apple
- **Type:** Apple app
- **Status:** Available
- **Publisher:** Howard Hughes Medical Institute
- **Category:** Education
- **Rating:** 4.30 / 5 (106 ratings)
- **Version:** 2.1
- **Last updated:** 2017-06-19
- **First published:** 2013-01-31
- **Size:** 108 MB
- **Data as of:** 2026-09-21
- **Store listing:** [Apple App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earthviewer/id590208430)
- **Website:** [http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive](http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive)
- **Privacy policy:** [http://www.hhmi.org/privacy-policy](http://www.hhmi.org/privacy-policy)

## Description

EarthViewer acts as a time machine for Earth’s deep history. Users scroll through 4.5 billion years to see how continents drift, how fossils moved across the globe, and how climate and sea level evolved. The viewer layers data on atmospheric composition, temperature, biodiversity, day length, and solar luminosity to create a richer picture of our planet’s past.

Aimed at teachers and students, EarthViewer offers continental reconstructions, sea level maps (past and near-future), global temperature maps, automated play modes, and flexible projections between globe and flat maps. Its classroom-ready features include clickable geologic time details, extensive references, and practical ideas for teaching about major geological and biological events.

## Rankings

- #136,237 — Overall

## Review summary

EarthViewer is praised for its educational, free, and engaging portrayal of Earth's geologic history across billions of years, with classroom value and broad usefulness. However, it suffers from stability and exit problems, compatibility/update concerns, and visual glitches. Users frequently request expanded content (more periods, future drift, more continents) to enhance realism. Overall, its strong educational potential is clear, but ongoing support, bug fixes, and feature expansions are needed.

### Pros

- Educational and engaging Geologic History simulation that helps users understand Earth's long history
- Free app with high educational value and widespread classroom utility
- Delivers a broad, billions-of-years timescale useful for studying continental drift
- Widely regarded as an informative and fascinating educational tool
- Recognized as a valuable resource for both laypeople and students

### Cons

- Exit/close issues requiring force quit or device restart to close the app
- Compatibility/update problems, including lack of iOS 13 support and apparent stale updates
- Graphic and visualization bugs (e.g., missing lat/lon grid, transparent globe, distorted images)
- Occasional factual/graphics inaccuracies and inconsistent data presentation
- Requests for more content/features (additional ancient periods, future continental drift, more continents)

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Source: [Chrome-Stats](https://chrome-stats.com/d/id590208430)