Colombia boasts extensive geodiversity thanks to complex geological processes that have shaped its landscape over geological time. The eastern region of the country is characterized by ancient rock formations, covered by a substantial layer of sediments, influenced by tectonic and erosive forces. These forces have given rise to unique geoforms that qualify as geosites. Thirteen […]
The Nusplingen Plattenkalk is a Solnhofen-type fossil Konservat-Lagerstaette in the southwestern part of the Swabian Alb, which is scientifically exploited by the Stuttgart Natural History Museum. The Nusplingen Plattenkalk formed in a deep lagoon surrounded by islands. The highly diverse and exceptionally preserved fossil fauna and flora allow a reconstruction of the Late Jurassic marine […]
Penha Garcia Ichnological Park is the most important fossil site and one of the most significant geosites of international relevance, in the territory of Naturtejo UNESCO Global Geopark. This municipal protected area is a key site for the study of trace fossil diversity at high paleolatitudes in the early stages of the Great Ordovician Biodiversification […]
The Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) of the Aalenian Stage (base of the Middle Jurassic), was established in Fuentelsaz (Central Spain) by the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) in 2000. This stratotype is one of the most important geosites of the Molina-Alto Tajo UNESCO Global […]
The Early Paleozoic oceans were generally characterized by short trophic chains and simple ecological tiering dominated by suspension-feeding organisms. However, the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event (GOBE) was responsible for the complexification of food webs, increasing depth and diversity of substrate ecospace utilization and increasing benthic competition for resources near the water-substrate interface. Daedalus is an […]
Located in France on the eastern edge of the Massif Central, the Parc naturel regional des Monts d’Ardèche, inscribed as a UNESCO Global Geopark in 2014, presents great geological diversity. This includes a sedimentary boundary between the Jurassic and Cretaceous, represented by limestone and marl. Fossils of crocodilians have been discovered in these layers, highlighting […]
Middle Ordovician successions occur at Naturtejo UNESCO Global Geopark in five Variscan-folded, kilometer- to tens of kilometer-long structures. Four of them revealed to be fossiliferous in the different recognized lithostratigraphic units, middle-to-uppermost Darriwilian in age, with particular emphasis for Brejo Fundeiro (Oretanian regional chronostratigraphic stage) and Fonte da Horta (Dobrotivian regional stage) formations. Recent paleontological […]
The low level of the Jurassic sea in the area of Bad Essen-Barkhausen (Wiehen Mountains, NW Germany) was a precondition for the migration of a herd of sauropods and theropods through this coastal area about 153 million years ago. The dinosaurs left at least 11 trackways on a single fine-grained siltstone layer and several more […]
Naturtejo UNESCO Global Geopark (Portugal) area includes deposits from the Neoproterozoic to the Quaternary. Despite its limited exposure area in major Variscan folded structures, the Ordovician series hosts some of its most famous geological heritage features, such as the Penha Garcia Ichnological Park. The Upper Ordovician of the Central Iberian Zone is still far from […]
For many years, even before it was designated as Las Loras UNESCO Global Geopark, work was carried out to promote and protect the geological heritage of the territory. To this end, an innovative model of governance was introduced, involving local people in the management of heritage by means of citizen participation processes and Geo-volunteering. This […]