A National Geopark in the Republic of Tatarstan (Russia): a Feasibility Study

Abstract

The area, which occupies the right bank of the Volga River from the mouth of its tributary, Sviyaga River, to the southern border of Tatarstan, and the right bank of the Kama River from its mouth to the northeastern border of Tatarstan, is considered to warrant the possible creation of a national geopark. The area is characterized by welldefined limits, and it occupies 2,080 km 2 that is commensurate with an area of many successfully functioning geoparks. It has more than 150 years of history of comprehensive geological studies carried out by prominent Russian and foreign geologists. A significant number of geosites (29) of different types and significance levels accessible to visitors are revealed there. The majority of the geosites are of interest first of all in terms of stratigraphy and palaeontology as well as geomorphology, tectonics, petrology, hydrogeology, and history of geology and mining. These geosites allow study of the history of the Earth's organic world in the Middle-Upper Permian, geological events, and processes that occurred in this region, as well as landform evolution.This area is of aesthetic value owing to the variety and beauty of its natural landscapes. It also contains abundant nongeological natural, historical, and cultural heritage sites attractive for tourists. It is also characterized by a high level of economic development, well-developed infrastructure, and the existence of officially protected sites that occupy a fifth of the territory. The area is of high educational significance as well. It has, for a long time, been used as a geological training ground for students of the Kazan State University, Russia. Moreover, the scientific and methodical basis for seven educational-excursion routes including visiting particularly interesting geological, historical, and cultural sites of the planned geopark has been already developed.The comprehensive evaluation of this area shows that it meets all necessary criteria for geopark creation.

The magnitude rule in geoheritage site inventories

“…Because of their attractiveness, a significant proportion of the geoheritage inventories have been carried out in karst or pseudokarst regions, where we find repeated references to the magnitude of the geosites (e.g. Vdovets et al, 2010; Pellitero et al, 2011; Martin-Duque et al, 2012; Nachev and Sinnyovsky, 2014; Ferreira et al, 2019; Chen et al, 2022; Duszyński and Migoń, 2022). These works supposedly selected the geosites by conventional criteria, but describe spectacular examples (italic letters are literal words) of tuffaceous morphologies, gorges, cavities and tectonic structures (Ebro and Rudrón Gorges Natural Park, Spain); large caves, including the cave with the tallest entrance in the world (∼215 m) (Alto Ribeira Tourist State Park, Brazil); landscapes of well-developed Cretaceous red beds, dissected by prominent erosional landforms (Danxiashan Global Geopark, China); clusters of 17 folds, tens of meters high and the largest cave in the Republic of Tatarstan (Russia); outstanding examples of karst landscapes in Covalagua and Las Tuerces (Spain), including one of the highest concentration of sinkholes in Spain (387 in ∼10 km 2 ) and an extensive karst labyrinth or bogaz of more than 50 ha; an emblematic and unique geological phenomenon in Bulgaria, consisting of a group of majestic limestone columns of algal biohermal reefs, some up to 10 m in height and 8 m in diameter; or spectacular landforms on sandstones in Sudetes (Poland), with extensive erosional landscapes, impressive landslides (the largest landslide complex in the region), long erosional corridors (>20 km) and abundant and prominent sandstone tors (in such a number and unusual size ), notches, cavities, cliffs or block fields .…”

International Visitors' Perspectives on Geopark Sustainability in Langkawi Island, Malaysia

“…More particularly, the questionnaire survey was formulated echoing the work of Vdovets, Silantiev, and Mozzherin (2010) in relation to nature protection's legal regulation and financial support, Burlando, Firpo, Queirolo, Rovere, and Vacchi (2012) in relation to activities in the protected areas and Huang (2010) related to geological environment exploitation. Prior to the actual fieldwork, the constructed questionnaire was tested for reliability and validity in terms of accurate word choices, duration of completion and collected information robustness.…”

Earth Science Frontier at Urban Periphery: Geoheritage from the Vicinity of Kazan City, Russia

“…In other words, these are outstanding geoheritage sites (geosites). Some are located in the Republic of Tatarstan, which is a large region of the Russian Federation in the middle portion of the Volga River watershed [29,36]. Therefore, their systematic description with the use of cutting-edge approaches to geoheritage assessment seems to be urgent task.…”