European Geoparks

Romania

Hațeg Country UNESCO Global Geopark is the first International Geopark in Romania and Eastern Europe recognized as a UNESCO site, for the creative way of attracting tourists and for its vast geological and cultural heritage. Located in Hațeg Country, Hunedoara, it includes an area with a special charm, at the intersection of ancient cultural and commercial routes that connected Transylvania, Banat, and Oltenia. It is a region where geodiversity, biodiversity, and the interaction between Man and Earth have created a space of great natural and cultural value.
Hațeg Country UNESCO Global Geopark is a territory that includes elements of special geological interest (dinosaurs and their contemporary mammal's fossils, and pterosaurs like flying reptile (Hatzegopterix thambema) along with elements of ecological, archaeological, historical, and cultural interest. Those who arrive in the Geopark have the opportunity to discover three models of dwarf dinosaurs, made with exceptional attention to detail by one of the most famous paleoartists in the world, the Canadian Brian Cooley, but also three nests with dinosaur eggs. Also, a lot of interesting information about the past and present of the area can be found in six visiting and interpretation points named Houses: The Exhibition "Balauri, dragons, dinosaurs" in the House of the Geopark located in Hațeg town, the House of Science and Art in the Commune General Berthelot, The House of Volcanoes from Densuș commune, the House of Stones from Ohaba, Sibișel village, Râu de Mori commune, the House of the Dwarf Dinosaurs and the House of Traditions from Sânpetru village, Sântămăria Orlea commune. There are also thematic trails that can be covered on foot or by bicycle.

Azores Geopark
The Azores archipelago has a rich and vast geodiversity, and an important geological heritage composed by several sites of scientific, educational and touristic interests.
Given the insular nature of the region, the Azores Geopark is supported on a geosites network dispersed by the nine islands and the surrounding seafloor, i) that ensures the representativeness of the geodiversity that characterizes the Azorean territory, ii) that reflects its geological and eruptive histories, iii) with common conservation and promotion strategies , and iv) based on a decentralized management structure with support in all the islands.

The evidence of this diversity is expressed in great morphologies and structures, such as calderas, lava fields, volcanic ridges, lakes, prismatic joints, etc..
The Azores geodiversity represents elements closely linked to the dynamics of planet Earth, in particular, the volcanism and geotectonic of this region. This geomorphological factor together with the insular dispersion, isolation and the Atlantic climate, create distinctive ecological conditions.
Thus, since the discovery and settlement of the Azores, in the middle of the 15th century, the natural richness and the landscape were important sources of interest, that attracted numerous visitors and distinguished researchers. With the globalization and a greater and better access to information about the archipelago, in the last years there was an increased of the tourism in the Azores.

EL HIERRO GEOPARK

El Hierro is the smallest of the larger Islands of the Canary Islands Archipelago. It is located at the very southwest part of the Archipelago and it’s no more than 30km in length. El Hierro wasdeclared Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2000. The territory of El Hierro UNESCO Global Geopark covers the whole of the island of El Hierro. El Hierro is the last volcanic island in Canary Islands to emerge above the level of the sea 1.2 million years above. It has over 500 open craters and another 300 which have been covered by more recent lava flows. The most recently activity took place on 10 October 2011, when an underwater eruption occurred at a depth of 300m. El Hierro Geopark was approved in 2014 making it the first Spanish island Geopark. The variety of landscapes on El Hierro surprises any visitor who is new to the island. The coastline is constantly ravaged by the ocean beating again the black basalt rock. The laurel forest is permanently green and offers the only humidity that there is on an island with a long history of thirst.

SPAIN: EL HIERRO GEOPARK

FAUNA

The lizards are, together with the frogs, the most common animals of El Hierro. One of the most representative lizards is the Giant Lizard of El Hierro.It is a species of lizard with large proportions that is only found on this island.The island of El Hierro also hosts an important colony of birds, both native and introduced by man which includes species of finches, canaries, robins and many more.In addition, there are about 5000 species of insects on the island. The most common are butterflies, damselflies, ladybugs, bees …

Flora:
In the flora, we have the most representative tree of the island, the sabina. They are inclined because of the wind of the zone. You can find this tree in other places, but not as beautiful as this ones. Normally in other islands like Tenerife, there are sabinas, but not with the characteristic inclination that this ones have.

Hello from Croatia, from Papuk Geopark.

Papuk Nature Park covers the largest part of Papuk, as well as part of Krndija, in the general direction northwest – southeast. It covers an area of 336 km2 (33 600 ha) and is administratively located in two counties, Požega-Slavonia and Virovitica-Podravina. The municipalities and cities located in the area of Papuk Nature Park are: the municipalities of Kaptol, Velika, Brestovac and the town of Kutjevo in Požega-Slavonia County, and the municipalities of Voćin, Čačinci and the town of Orahovica in Virovitica-Podravina County.

Papuk was proclaimed a protected area by the Croatian government in 1999 due to its exceptional geological, biological and cultural diversity, rarely seen in other Croatian areas. Since the proclamation of Papuk Nature Park, its administration has recognized the great value of its geological heritage and the idea of joining the European Geoparks Network was born. The application documentation was produced by the joint efforts of Papuk Nature Park, Croatian Geological Institute and the University of Zagreb. Papuk Nature Park submitted its application for the admission to the European Geoparks Network in September 2006.
The delegation who subsequently visited Papuk gave a very favorable report. Consequently, in September 2007, at the seventh Annual Meeting of the European Geoparks Network hosted by Scottish Park North West Highlands, Papuk became the first Croatian Geopark and the 30th member of the European Geoparks Network, as well as a member of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network.