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INTERNATIONAL GEOSCIENCE AND GEOPARKS PROGRAMME

Presentation of new UNESCO GLOBAL GEOPARK applications

Patrick J Mc Keever

Katla UNESCO Global Geopark, Iceland

UNESCO GLOBAL GEOPARKS

UNESCO Global Geoparks 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.

ARE UNESCO GLOBAL GEOPARKS JUST ABOUT

GEOLOGY?

No! While a geopark must demonstrate

geological heritage of international significance,

the purpose of a geopark is to explore, develop

and celebrate the links between that geological

heritage and all other aspects of the areas

natural, cultural and intangible heritages. It is

about reconnecting human society at all levels to

the planet we all call home and to celebrate how

our planet and it’s 4,600 million year long

history has shaped every aspect of our lives and

our societies.

UNESCO Global Geoparks

United NationsEducational, Scientific and

Cultural Organization

Annual International Intensive Course on Geoparks

Lesvos Island UNESCO Global Geopark, Greece


In 2016, the UNESCO Global Geoparks

Council examined 16 new applications and 2

extension applications. They decided to

approve the following as UNESCO Global

Geoparks:

Arxan, China

Causses du Quercy, France

Cheongsong, Republic of Korea

Conmarca Minera, Hidalgo, Mexico

Keketuohai, China

Las Loras, Spain

Mixteca Alta, Mexico

Qeshm, Iran

Leiqiong & Zigong (China) were extended

and 22 others were revalidated.

These decisions will go forward to the spring

session of UNESCO’s Executive Board for

endorsement.




1st

Meeting of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Council,

English Riviera UNESCO Global Geopark, UK

September 2016


During the period October-November 2016,

UNESCO received 15 new applications from

areas wishing to become UNESCO Global

Geoparks plus 2 extension applications.

Summary sheets of all 17 applications are

online for a three month period from

February 3 – May 3 for Member States to view.

This presentation of the 17 applications

forms part of this “intergovernmental check.”

The geological section of all 17 applications

are being independently evaluated through

the global geoscience networks of IUGS.

So long as no objections are received, all

applications will be subject to a field

inspection between May 15 – August 15. An

additional 33 UNESCO Global Geoparks will

also be revalidated during this period.




Geo-experience at the Reversing Falls,

Stonehammer UNESCO Global Geopark, Canada

BELGIUM: Famenne - Ardenne

Famenne – Ardenne comprises 8 municipalities with a

population of 67,000. The cultivated land and grassland

occupy 52% of its area. The area’s geological formations

extend from the Lower Devonian (south) to the Upper

Devonian (north). In the southern part, sandstones are

responsible for a marked relief defined by the term ‘plateau

ardennais’. In the center, limestones are affected by many

karstic phenomena including numerous caves of international

reputation. Finally, to the north, the presence of schists

localizes a vast depression (the Famenne depression). All the

elements blend harmoniously into a landscape with

contrasting relief with the south of the Ardennes (550 m) and

north of the Famenne depression (115 m).




CANADA: Percé

Percé is situated on the eastern most tip of the Gaspé

Peninsula (Quebec, Canada). There are 3,289

inhabitants in an area of 431,76 km² (plus 123,37 km²

marine area). When in Percé, visitors can discover a

territory particularly rich in rock archives (rocks and

fossils) and in various land forms that testify to its

ancient and recent past. Rocks demonstrate 170 million

years of the regional geological history in a very small

area and it’s also possible to see some glacial remains

from the Quaternary. These rocks, unlike many of their

counterparts elsewhere in the Appalachians, are poorly

metamorphosed, which makes it possible to recognize

the textures and structures formed during their

deposition.




CHINA: Gangwushan - Nuoshuihe

Gangwushan-Nuoshuihe is centered on karst landforms and

geological sections, located in Bazhong City, Sichuan

Province, China. It has an area of 1818km2

and the altitude is

between 480~2507m. The area is dominated by subtropical

humid monsoon climate, and moderately ~ deeply cut high-

middle mountainous terrain, higher in north and lower in

south. The area is bounded on the north by Hanzhong,

Shanxi Province, being 390km to Chengdu, 370km to

Chongqing and 400km to Xi'an. The area includes seventeen

villages and towns, with about 120,000 residents in total.




CHINA: Huanggan - Dabieshan

Huanggang Dabieshan is located in Hubei, China, and covers an

area of 2625 km2. The land is high in the north but slopes away to

the south. The area is part of the warm subtropical monsoon zone

producing a humid climate, abundant rain with distinctive seasons

and resulting in a region with dazzling biodiversity. Containing

mountain belts which include granitic landscapes and subtropical

forestry, Huanggang Dabieshan is an open air classroom allowing

tourists to explore the Earth and to learn about how to protect the

environment. The development of tourism has led to the growth

of relevant service industries such as transportation, commerce,

catering etc. Huanggang Dabieshan has now become an important

tourist attraction in Hubei Province.




DENMARK: Vestjylland

Vestjylland is located in the central Denmark region and extends

about 50 km offshore into the North Sea to also include part of

the Jutland Reef. It has a total area of 4,759 km2

and a

population of 99,534. During the Quaternary Period enormous

ice sheets sculpted the landscapes that form the core of

Vestjylland. They mark the last period when the Scandinavian

Ice Sheet extended from the mountains of Norway down to

Denmark. In addition, there are a series of other more recent

landforms created by rivers and coastal processes, as well as by

the powerful westerly winds that characterize the west coast of

Denmark. There are also remains of older geological deposits

from the Tertiary and the Quaternary in some of the cliffs.




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FRANCE: Beaujolais

Beaujolais is located in the south-east France, the area of the

aspiring Geopark is 1530 km²,with a population of 225 000.

There are three different types of relief: the Saône River plain

(170m) marks the eastern border, the wine growing area is

made up of slopes and uplands cut by wooded valleys (200 to

550m), the mountains of Beaujolais extend throughout the

west (600 to 1009m) and composed by huge forests and cattle

breeding fields. The climate is temperate, with high continental

trend and Mediterranean influences. Bordered by the Variscan

domain (Massif Central) to the west and in contact with the

peripheral zone of the Alps to the east, Beaujolais has inherited

of a rich and complex geology. No less than 150 different rocks

are listed and all types are represented.




GERMANY: Thüringen Inselsberg – Drei Gleichen

The aspiring Geopark Thuringia Inselsberg – Drei Gleichen

covers an area of approx. 688 km² and has a total population

of approx. 72,000. Two of the natural landscape types found

here are low-lying mountains (Thuringian Forest) and areas of

loess (Thuringian Basin). Typical landscape forms include

Wachsenburg trench (an example of topographic inversion),

the karst landscapes, hemispherical hills and wide basins that

form on metamorphic slate, flat upland areas criss-crossed

with deep v-shaped valleys in Permian volcanic rock and

conglomerates and the foothills of the Thuringian Forest with

their Bunter sandstone outcrops. There are approx. 100

natural caves, 3 of them are used as show caves. There are

also 3 visitor mines in the aspiring geopark.




INDONESIA: Ciletuh Palabuhanratu

Ciletuh-Palabuhanratu is located in the southwest of Sukabumi

Regency, West Java, Indonesia, and has an area of 1260 km2. It

is situated close to the boundary of the Eurasian plate and the

Indo- Australian (Indian ocean) plate which is being subducted

at a rate of 4 mm/year. Evidence of similar subduction

processes that occurred during the Cretaceous Period can be

seen in Ciletuh area in the form of the occurrences of rocks

that were deposited within the deep trench which was created

during the subduction process. These rocks include ophiolite

suites; metamorphic; and sedimentary rocks that mixed

together as melange complexes and known as the oldest rock

formation that occur on the surface in West Java.




JAPAN: Izu Peninsula

Izu Peninsula is located in the southeast of Honshu, Japan

and is approximately 2027 km2

in size. (land area:1585 km2).

Most of the area, apart from the Tagata plain in the north, is

covered by mountains of low to moderate elevations. The

highest point of the peninsula is Mt. Banzaburō (1405 m asl)

in the Amagi Range. The protrusion of these mountains into

the sea causes heavy rain to fall in some regions of the

peninsula, and also creates a diverse coastal topography. The

Izu Peninsula is located at the northern edge of the Philippine

Sea plate, at the far northern end of the Izu-Bonin volcanic

arc. The area around the Izu is the only place in the world

where two active volcanic arcs meet, both the collision and

the phenomena that arise from it are in progress today.




PERU: Colca y Volcanes de Andagua

The proposed Geopark is located in southern Peru where a

chain of volcanic cones, strongly dissected by valleys, stand

out. It is an extensive geographical area with topography

ranging from 1000 m (Andamayo, Colca river) to more than

6200 m (Ampato volcano). Covering an area of 6010.91 km2,

the area has about 40,000 inhabitants who are mostly

engaged in agriculture, cattle raising, commerce, mining

(Orcopampa) and also tourism. The area presents a

morphology typical of the western mountains of south Peru,

mainly volcanic, located in the Central Zone of the Andes. The

area contains rocks of Precambrian age (the oldest in Peru),

marine and continental strata of the Mesozoic (Jurassic and

Cretaceous), volcanic outcrops of the Paleogene-Neogene age,

covered by Quaternary sediments.




REPUBLIC OF KOREA: Mudeungsan

Mudeungsan is located in the southern part of the Korean

peninsula near the large regional city of Gwangju. About half

of the area is forested and the “Geopark” is focused on Mt

Mudeung which rises to about 1,100 m asl. The mountains

and individual features have deep symbolic values for the

local people and for wider Korea. Twenty geosites have been

identified and 7 geological periods are represented. The

geosites range from five large colonnades of polygonally

jointed tuff columns recording at least three phases of

Cretaceous volcanic activity, to extensive periglacially-

produced block streams, dinosaur footprints and trackways,

and to a variety of other geological and geomorphological

features such as lengthy scenic cliff-lines and waterfalls.




SERBIA: Djerdap

Djerdap is situated in south-east Europe, in north-eastern Serbia.

The Danube River is a natural and administrative border with the

Republic of Romania as well as the main water corridor linking the

Black Sea and the Upper Danube catchment. In this area, the

Danube has incised the longest gorge in Europe, which extends

over a length of 100 km, and connects the Pannonian Basin in the

west and the Dacian Basin in the east. Djerdap covers an area of

1330 km2

and has 41,000 residents. Family income is derived

mainly from agriculture, animal husbandry and tourism. Djerdap

features some of the most diverse geology, spanning from old

Proterozoic rocks to young Quaternary sediments. The Danube

incised into the rocks, leaving behind geological profiles, such as

those in Pesača (stratotype of Jurassic and Cretaceous in the

Southern Carpathians) and Boljetinsko Brdo (classic Lower

Cretaceous facies with cephalopods).




TANZANIA: Ngorongoro - Lengai

The Ngorongoro-Lengai Aspiring geopark is confined to the north

and north-west by Serengeti National Park, Lake Natron to the east,

Greater Rift Valley Left arm to the south, and Maswa Game Reserve

to the west. The population is 230,588. The Ngorongoro Crater

harbours a great diversity of wildlife species that co-exist with

humans. Apart from the Ngorongoro main crater, there are

Empakai and Olmoti craters, which are smaller and less famous

compared to the former. The Oldoinyo Lengai “Mountain of God” or

“Holy Mountain” in Maasai language is the youngest and most

active stratovolcano (2,962 m high), standing the northern end of

the Ngrongoro Volcanic Highland in the Eastern Africa major Rift

Valley, 16 km south of Lake Natron, Arusha region. It is the first of

the volcanic system of the EARV and uniquely erupts natro-

carbonatite lava that contains almost no silca.




THAILAND: Satun

The area is located in Satun province, southern Thailand, with

a total area of 2,597.21 km2

(1,099.47 km2

of land area and

1,497.74 km2

of sea area). The proposed Geopark area is

composed of mountains and foothills on the east and north

while beaches and coastal islands line the Andaman Sea to

the west. The population is about 113,110 people. Economic

activities are mainly based on agricultures, fishery, tourism,

and small local business. Satun provides an understanding of

not only the biostratigraphy, lithostratigraphy and marine

sedimentary evolution of the Shan-Thai terrane, but also of

paleoclimate and paleogeography. It is well known as the land

of Palaeozoic fossils in Thailand and Southeast Asia.




VIETNAM: Cao Bang

Cao Bang covers a total area of ca. 3000km2, mostly located in

the northern and eastern districts of Cao Bang Province in

Northeast Vietnam. A population of ca. 250,000 people of nine

ethnic groups live in the area, occupied mostly in agro-forestry,

trade and services, and small industries. Geologically, Cao Bang

Geopark can be divided into two distinct parts by the so-called

Cao Bang-Tien Yen deep-seated active fault. The eastern part is

composed of Paleozoic limestones and the western part features

sedimentary rocks, pillow basalts, ultra-mafic and granitic

intrusions rich in minerals and hydrothermal alterations, pull-

apart depressions etc., which are closely associated with the fault

mentioned above.




CHINA: Alxa Desert (extension)

The area is located in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

and has an area is 106,802.20 km2. Relief ranges from 900-

1400 metres above sea level and the climate is of a typical

continental type, generally arid with little rainfall, strong winds

and a lot of sand. Alxa Desert Geopark is characterized by

sand depositional landforms, desert lakes, oases, gobi, wind-

eroded granite landforms and a rich paleontological heritage.

The Badain Jaran Desert has the densest high sand hills in the

world, generally about 200-300 m high, the Bilute Sand Hill is

1,611 m above sea level. Alxa Desert has the largest area of

singing sands in the world. There are 144 lakes in the Badain

Jaran Desert while the Tengger Desert is rich in water

resources, with many artesian water sites and 422 lakes of

different sizes.




CHINA: Hexigten (extension)

Hexigten Geopark of China is located in the Inner Mongolia

Autonomous Region with an area of 6,992.64 km2. Hexigten

Geopark is located at the convergence of the Greater Khingan and

Yanshan Mountain and has a temperate continental monsoon

climate. The annual average temperature is 2-4℃, and the annual

precipitation is 200-400 mm. Hexigten has a population of

248,800, most of whom are the Han people. The Mongol people

accounts for 17.4% of the total population, and besides, there are

other 14 ethnic groups, such as the Hui people, the Manchu people,

the Korean people and the Daur people, etc. Due to its complicated

geological history, the area includes evidence of granite landforms,

quaternary glacial vestiges, volcanic vestiges, hot spring resources,

deserts, grasslands, rivers and lakes.




International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme




International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme:

Supporting SDG’s 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 & 17

patrick j mc keever - unesco | building peace in the … j mc keever katla unesco global geopark,...

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