UNESCO’s Executive Board has just added 18 new sites to the organisation’s Global Geoparks network, bringing the total number to 213 across 48 countries around the world.
UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGp) are single, unified geographical areas where sites and landscapes of international geological significance are managed with a holistic concept of protection, education and sustainable development. Their bottom-up approach of combining conservation with sustainable development while involving local communities is becoming increasingly popular.
The UNESCO Global Geopark designation was created in 2015. It recognizes geological heritage of international significance. Geoparks serve local communities by combining the conservation of their significant geological heritage with public outreach and a sustainable approach to development.
The new geoparks are situated in Brazil, China, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Portugal and Spain. There is an additional new transboundary geopark spanning Belgium and the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
1. Schelde Delta, Belgium and the Netherlands
The Schelde Delta holds a unique geological position between the sinking North Sea Basin and the rising Brabant Massif. Geological forces, climate-driven environmental change and human interactions have forged a landscape rich in geological, morphological and cultural–historical traces. The geopark shows “on a small scale what the effects of climate change and sea level rise are worldwide”, noted local photographer and artist Rem van den Bosch.
2. Uberaba, Brazil
The Uberaba Geopark is located within South America’s second largest biome, in southeast Brazil. Impressive prehistoric landmarks include the Serra da Galga and Serra Geral formations. The geopark’s tag line “Land of the Giants” refers to its rich palaeontological heritage. Over ten thousand fossils have been discovered in the territory, including dinosaurs, crocodyliforms, turtles and a myriad of other prehistoric creatures.
3. Enshi Grand Canyon-Tenglongdong Cave, China
The Enshi Grand Canyon-Tenglongdong Cave Geopark lies in the southwest of Hubei Province. The geopark is home to world-famous erosion and dissolution landscapes and the rich cultural heritage of the Tujia, Miao and Dong ethnic minority groups.
4. Linxia, China
Linxia is located in the Gansu Province. The area played a significant role in China’s early historical and cultural development. The geopark is home to the famous Bingling Cave Temple grottoes, where intricate sculptures are carved into the cliff faces, and to one of the longest and best-preserved fossil trackways on record – 24 consecutive paired footprints of the pterosaur, the earliest vertebrate species known to have evolved powered flight.
With roots tracing back more than 5,000 years along the Yellow River, Linxia was also an important courier station along the Ancient Silk Road. The Gansu province is world-famous as the birthplace of the Hua’er folk music tradition shared by nine ethnic groups and inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
5. Longyan, China
Home to the densest natural forests and the birthplace of the Hakka culture, Longyan offers a geological record of tectonic evolution in southeast China covering a period of approximately 300 million years. The geopark’s abundant geological heritage includes the Meihuashan granitic complex, the Guanzhaishan red bed sedimentary rocks and the Zijinshan super-large porphyry-epithermal copper–gold deposit.
6. Mount Changbaishan, China
Located in the southeast Jilin Province, Mount Changbaishan is one of the best-preserved composite volcanoes from the past several million years. At its summit, there are the highest and largest crater lake in northeast Asia, the Tianchi Lake.
7. Wugongshan, China
Wugongshan is located at the junction of three cities, Pingxiang, Yichun and Ji’an, in the west of Jiangxi Province. It is characterized by fascinating geological landscapes including Jurassic (ca. 201- to 145-million-years-old) granite “stone forests”, alpine meadows growing on the weathered Silurian (ca. 444- to 419-million-years-old) granitic gneiss and hot springs.
8. Xingyi, China
Located in Guizhou Province, the Xingyi Geopark is a geological treasure trove with imposing natural scenery such as the Malinghe River Gorge, bursting with over 100 waterfalls during periods of heavy rain. The geopark is world-famous for the exceptionally preserved “Xingyi fauna” from the late Ladinian Age (ca. 242 to 237 million years ago), the marine reptile and fish fossils offering a glimpse into the transition of marine life from nearshore habitats to the deep ocean.
9. Biokovo-Imotski Lakes, Croatia
The Biokovo-Imotski Lakes are situated in central Dalmatia. The region sits at a unique intersection of Mediterranean and Central European landscapes and cultures. The Vrljika River winds through the fertile Imotski Region, providing locals with vital freshwater sources and excellent conditions for agriculture; it is known locally as the “source of sustenance”.
10. The South Fyn Archipelago, Denmark
The South Fyn Archipelago in the central and southern parts of the country encompasses 55 unique islands and islets, forming both terrestrial and marine zones that transcribe approximately 800,000 years of geological history. The area is renowned for its beautiful, hilly landscapes, lush fields and some of the best sailing waters in the world.
The geopark territory has a long history of farming and agriculture. Historically, the island of Fyn has been named “The Garden of Denmark”.
11. Impact Crater Lake – Lappajärvi, Finland
Impact Crater Lake – Lappajärvi is located in South Ostrobothnia in the west of the country. The centrepiece of geological intrigue is the Lappajärvi Impact Crater Lake itself, recognized as Europe’s largest impact crater lake, which formed through a collision with a meteorite 78 million years ago.
The geopark works closely with the local community to promote sustainable development and economic wellbeing. Natural products and fish from the Impact Crater Lake are used in school meals and cooperation with schools brings added value to the geopark ecosystem.
12. Armorique, France
From the vertical cliffs of the Crozon Peninsula to the Arrée Mountains, the Armorique Geopark offers a journey through more than 500 million years of geological history. It tells the story of an ancient sea, the sediments of which later formed a mountain range; 320 million years ago, the Armorique territory was as high as the modern-day French Alps. The geopark is promoting the remarkable geodiversity of the region, which includes a diverse array of lithological, structural and palaeontological formations, including the largest bay in Europe, Brest Bay, 180 km in width, and an impressive granitic boulder field in the Huelgoat forest.
13. Normandie-Maine, France
Normandie-Maine lies within a peaceful pastoral region that is rich in hamlets, villages and meadows and reaches into the departments of both Normandy and the Pays de la Loire. Over 300 million years ago, this area was near the equator and witnessed the formation of the Armorican Massif, which reached heights of over 4,000 meters, before gradually eroding into the landscape seen today. The territory has born witness to the formation of two mountain ranges and the creation of the subsident sedimentary basin known as the Paris Basin.
14. Meteora Pyli, Greece
Nestled within the picturesque Thessaly region at the centre of mainland Greece, the Meteora Pyli is famed for the towering Meteora sandstone columns that reach heights of up to 300 meters. Perched atop these ‘columns of the sky’ are the iconic Byzantine monasteries, constructed between the 13th and 16th centuries. They are adorned with 16th-century frescoes, which mark a key stage in the development of post-Byzantine painting and offer an insight into the region’s rich religious history and artistic heritage.
15. Bükk Region, Hungary
The Bükk Region in northern Hungary lies in one of the country’s most complex geological environments and comprises a near-continuous sedimentary sequence spanning more than 300 million years, punctuated by periods of volcanic activity. The geopark is home to diverse karst formations, exemplified by nearly 1,150 caves, over a quarter of all the caves in Hungary, including the Szeleta Cave which was inhabited for 130,000 years and which gave the name to the Szeleta culture.
16. Land of Extinct Volcanoes, Poland
Situated in the scenic southwest, the Land of Extinct Volcanoes encompasses the Kaczawskie Mountains and surrounding foothills. The geopark features distinctive remnants of Paleozoic and Cenozoic volcanoes and lava flows. Mount Ostrzyca, with its conical basaltic neck, stands as the area’s most recognizable landmark.
The territory’s history is closely linked to its mineral resources, with a long tradition of gold and copper prospecting. The former basalt quarry, Wilcza Góra, stands as a testament to recent community-driven conservation and innovation, as it has been reclaimed for scientific and educational purposes.
17. Oeste, Portugal
The Oeste Geopark, located along Portugal’s central west coast, encompasses over 72 km of Atlantic coastline, with more than 15 km of sandy beaches. The coastline exposes geological layers that date back to the late Triassic Period, about 230 million years ago, and extend to the Holocene Era (since 11,700 years ago), a time which saw the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean. Today, the coastline plays a crucial role in sustaining local communities through fishing, with several small ports dotting the shoreline. The unique craft of Peniche bobbin lacemaking was traditionally practiced by the wives of fishermen.
18. Calatrava Volcanoes. Ciudad Real, Spain
Calatrava Volcanoes. Ciudad Real is situated in the southwest of the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha, in central Spain. The geopark territory offers a chronological thread of distinctive volcanic episodes that defines the landscape. The geopark also houses the world’s most prolific mining reservoir for mercury, in the region of Almadén, which has been extracted for over 2,500 years.
The relationship between humans and the volcanic igneous environment has been direct and dependent: the basic socio-economic resources were subordinated to the fertility of its volcanic soils, to the constructive qualities of its volcanic rocks and to the mining wealth of its subsoil. The geopark also encompasses landscapes mentioned in Cervantes’ novel “Don Quixote”.