# Mountain Identifier: Peaks - point your phone at any mountain and know its name > Point your iPhone at the skyline and see the name, elevation and distance of each peak in view. 687,599 summits worldwide, with line-of-sight checking. Source: https://mountainidentifier.org/ Last updated: 2026-10-09 ## What Mountain Identifier: Peaks is Mountain Identifier: Peaks is an iPhone app that labels the mountains in your camera view with their name, elevation and distance. It checks line of sight against the terrain, corrected for the Earth's curvature and atmospheric refraction, so a peak hidden behind a nearer ridge isn't labeled. It can also suggest the peak in a photo, and it keeps a passport of every summit you log. ## The numbers - 687,599 summits in the bundled database: 682,641 peaks and 4,958 volcanoes, on every continent. - 512,507 of them (74.5%) carry an elevation. - The live view searches 80 km around you. The 3D panorama renders up to 120 km. - Source: OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Extract dated 2026-07-12. ## How it works 1. **Point your phone at the skyline.** The app takes a GPS fix and a compass heading, works out the ground height where you stand, and looks up every summit within 80 km. 2. **It checks what you can actually see.** For each peak it traces the terrain in between, correcting for the curve of the Earth and the bending of light in the atmosphere. Peaks hidden behind a nearer ridge stay unlabeled. 3. **Log it to your passport.** Tap a label to log the peak. Your passport keeps every summit with its photo and date, and adds up countries, ranges and Everests climbed. ## What's free and what's Pro Free: the download, the Explore map, 3D panoramas at 37 curated viewpoints and at peaks on your bucket list, the passport, stats, badges, sharing, and up to 5 peaks logged by hand. Pro: the live camera labels, photo identification, "describe it", logging from the live view, unlimited peaks, and the 3D panorama anywhere on the map. ## Frequently asked questions ### How do I find out what mountain I'm looking at? Point an app that knows your position and direction at it. Mountain Identifier: Peaks uses GPS and the compass to label each summit in the camera view with its name, elevation and distance. Without an app, take a compass bearing and follow it across a topographic map. ### Does it work without cell service? Partly. All 687,599 peaks are stored on your phone, so names and heights never need a signal. The live labels also need terrain data, which the app downloads the first time you use it somewhere and keeps. Open it at your destination before you lose coverage. Photo identification needs a connection. ### How many mountains does it know? 687,599 summits on every continent, from OpenStreetMap: 682,641 peaks and 4,958 volcanoes. The whole database ships inside the app, so there's nothing to download region by region. ### Can it identify a mountain from a photo? Yes. Import a photo or take one, and an AI model suggests the peak, using the photo's location tag as a hint when it has one. It's a well-informed guess with a confidence score, so check unusual results against a map. ### How accurate is it? The live view computes where each summit should appear from your GPS position, the terrain, and corrections for the Earth's curvature and atmospheric refraction, then hides peaks behind nearer ridges. Accuracy mostly depends on your compass. If labels sit off to one side, drag them into line. ### What is prominence? Prominence is how far a summit rises above the lowest point connecting it to any higher summit. It measures how much a peak stands on its own, which is why a modest-looking mountain can outrank a taller bump on a ridge. ### What's the difference between a mountain and a hill? There is no official line. Old British and US survey rules used 1,000 feet of height, and both were dropped. In practice it comes down to local usage, steepness, and how much the summit stands out from its surroundings. ### Which peaks can I see from my house? Only the ones with a clear line of sight, which a map won't tell you. The app traces the terrain between you and each summit within 80 km and labels just the peaks that aren't hidden behind a nearer ridge. ### Where does the mountain data come from? Peak names, positions and heights come from OpenStreetMap, built by volunteers and licensed under the ODbL. Terrain for line-of-sight checks comes from the AWS Terrain Tiles open dataset. If a peak is missing, add it on OpenStreetMap. ### Is it free? It's free to download, and the passport, badges, sharing and 3D views at curated viewpoints cost nothing. Identifying peaks with the live camera view, a photo or a description is part of the Pro subscription. ## Guides - What mountain is this? (https://mountainidentifier.org/guides/what-mountain-is-this.md): Four reliable ways to name the mountain in front of you or in a photo: an AR app, a compass and map, the photo's location data, or a local forum. - How does a mountain identifier app work? (https://mountainidentifier.org/guides/mountain-identifier-app.md): Mountain identifier apps work in one of two ways: AR labels from GPS and terrain, or AI guesses from a photo. Here's how each works and where each fails. - How do I identify a mountain from a photo? (https://mountainidentifier.org/guides/identify-a-mountain-from-a-photo.md): Start with the photo's location tag, work out which way the camera faced, then match the skyline on a 3D map. Plus when AI photo tools help and when they guess. - What mountains can I see from here? (https://mountainidentifier.org/guides/what-mountains-can-i-see-from-here.md): A map shows every mountain nearby, not the ones you can see. Here's how line of sight works, why near ridges hide far peaks, and the tools that compute it. - What's the best app to identify mountains? (https://mountainidentifier.org/guides/best-apps-to-identify-mountains.md): PeakFinder, PeakVisor, Peaks USA, AI photo apps and ours, compared on how they identify peaks, what works without signal, range and price. - How far away can you see a mountain? (https://mountainidentifier.org/guides/how-far-away-can-you-see-a-mountain.md): Curvature, refraction and haze, worked through with real numbers: how much of a mountain hides below the horizon at 50, 100 and 200 km, and the record sightlines. - What is mountain prominence? (https://mountainidentifier.org/guides/what-is-mountain-prominence.md): Prominence measures how much a summit stands on its own: the drop to the saddle linking it to higher ground. Examples, how lists use it, and why data is thin. - What's the difference between a mountain, a hill and a peak? (https://mountainidentifier.org/guides/mountain-vs-hill-vs-peak.md): There's no official height that makes a hill a mountain. What the USGS says, the old 1,000 ft rule, the UN's working definition, and where peak and summit fit in. - How do you identify a mountain with a map and compass? (https://mountainidentifier.org/guides/identify-mountains-with-a-map-and-compass.md): Take a bearing to the peak, correct for declination, draw the line on a topo map, then check distance and height. A step-by-step method that works with no battery. - Can you identify mountains without cell signal? (https://mountainidentifier.org/guides/identifying-peaks-without-signal.md): GPS works without cell service, so mountain apps can too, if their data is already on your phone. What to prepare before you lose signal, and the no-battery backup. - What is peak bagging, and how do you start? (https://mountainidentifier.org/guides/peak-bagging-for-beginners.md): Peak bagging means working through a list of summits. How to pick a first list, from state highpoints to the Munros, how lists decide what counts, and how to log it. - Is that Mount Hood or Mount Adams? (https://mountainidentifier.org/guides/is-that-mount-hood-or-mount-adams.md): From Portland, the Gorge or the highway, how to tell Mount Hood from Mount Adams: direction, distance, shape and height, with bearings from common viewpoints. - What mountains can you see from Denver? (https://mountainidentifier.org/guides/what-mountains-can-you-see-from-denver.md): Mount Blue Sky to the west, Longs Peak to the northwest, Pikes Peak due south: the Denver skyline named peak by peak, with directions and distances. - What mountains can you see from Los Angeles? (https://mountainidentifier.org/guides/what-mountains-can-you-see-from-los-angeles.md): Mount Wilson's antennas, snowy Mount Baldy, and San Gorgonio on the clearest days: the LA skyline named peak by peak, with directions and distances. --- Peak data (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, licensed ODbL. Mountain Identifier: Peaks is an iOS app by Patrick Tammaro. Free to download; identifying peaks is part of the Pro subscription. App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/mountain-identifier-peaks/id6752865266