The human imprint on the unique geological landscape of the Western Caucasus

Abstract

Human intervention in the geological environment is commonly thought to pose a threat to geoheritage. However, new information from the Western Caucasus where unique geological features are concentrated in Mountainous Adygeya, implies that man-made features in fact add value to geoheritage. Such features include a lengthy artificial niche in the Guama Gorge, accumulations of large artificial clasts along the road leading to the Lagonaki Highland and the Khadzhokh Quarry with the artificial Red Lake. These contribute to the regional uniqueness of geosites and can be classified as geomorphological, sedimentary, economical and hydro(geo)logical geoheritage types. Interestingly, these artificial features have natural analogues in the study area. Such integrity of local geological landscapes urgently require special interpretations for guided excursions and explanatory panels for correct comprehension of the origin of these unique features on the part of unprepared tourists. Generally, the human imprint on geological landscapes of Mountainous Adygeya is significant and occasionally positive, which makes the entire geodiversity hotspot of special, international interest and an object for further investigations.

Dilemma of Geoconservation of Monogenetic Volcanic Sites under Fast Urbanization and Infrastructure Developments with Special Relevance to the Auckland Volcanic Field, New Zealand

“…In the slightly elevated and central areas of the AVF which provided early settlement sites and the subsequent downtown area of Auckland, scoria cones are common (Figure 3A). These scoria cones are average in size, eruptive volume (e.g., Dense Rock Equivalent or DRE-~0.7-0.002 km 3 ), and edifice geometry compared to other sites around the world [53] and served as important settlement sites for the indigenous Māori [54] (Figure 3A). In the present day, they are mostly protected as parks and recreational spaces well utilized by inhabitants of the city.…”

“…For centuries societies have utilized volcanic landforms for resources, resulting in modified landscapes. Recently, abandoned quarry sites have become significant geosites, often featuring exposed magmatic plumbing systems of monogenetic volcanoes, easily accessible, and ready to be visited and utilized as geosites for volcano geology and hazard education [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. The UNESCO IGCP Project (# 692.…”