Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Geoparks In India
R.B. Singh and Subhash Anand
University of Delhi, Delhi, INDIA
1 Introduction
The development of all biotic and abiotic resources relies on bedrock, soil, landform
and related systems and processes. The diversity of these systems and processes de-
termines the richness of biodiversity. The geological history of India started with
geological evolution about 4.57 billion years ago. Indian geological formations con-
sist of the Deccan trap, the Gondwana and the Vindhyan and those that originated in
Pleistocene, Tertiary and Pre-Cambrian periods. Conventionally, the country is di-
vided into three physiographic regions viz., the Himalaya and associated mountain
chain (5,00,000 sq. km.), the Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra plains (7,00,000 sq. km.) and
the Peninsular plateau (19,00,000 sq. km.) including the coasts and the islands. The
world’s 14 highest peaks and few large rivers of the world are located in the Himalaya.
The Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra plains located in the northern part of the country, ex-
tends for 3,200 km. from the river Indus in the west to Brahmaputra in the east. Its
width varies between 150-300 km. The senile peninsular plateau in the south is trian-
gular in shape and has some of the oldest mountains of the world with elevation var-
ying between 600 and 800 meters. The Islands include the Lakshwadeep (36 coral
Islands), the Andaman (200 Islands) and Nicobar (19 Islands) (Singh, 2012). Out of
the total geographical area of the country, 2,386,000 sq. km. (Himalayan and Penin-
sula region) is made up of hard rock.
Geodiversity is defined as the variety of geological features, including rocks, min-
erals, fossils, soils, geological units and landscapes, which are the result of the Earth’s
evolution and history (Panizza, 2001). According to Brocx and Semeniuk (2007),
geoheritage is a concept concerned with the preservation of features with importance
to Earth science, such as landforms, natural and artificial exposures of rocks, and sites
where geological features can be examined. A geosite is a locality that constitutes part
of the geoheritage of a territory. UNESCO in its Geoparks International Network of
Geoparks programme describes a geopark as a territory encompassing one or more
sites of scientific importance, not only for geological reasons but also by virtue of its
archaeological, ecological or cultural value. Preserving the rocks beneath our feet is
necessary for earth science and for education; it is a vital part of nature conservation.
Geoparks and geosites can become our modern earth science clubs if maintained and
Author: R.B. Singh,Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, Delhi – 110007,
INDIA; rbsgeo@hotmail.com
Subhash Anand. Department of Geography, Swami Shraddhanand College, University of Delhi, Delhi – 110036,
INDIA; sanandpv@yahoo.co.in
www.igu-cog.org
R.B. Singh, et al.: Geodiversity, Geogrphical Heritage and Geoparks In India 11
2.1 Mountain
The mountains of India are broadly classified into two types: extra-peninsular or Hi-
malaya and peninsular (Wadia, 1919). The geological structure and age of Himalaya
fall into three broad stratigraphical belts viz. The Northern or Tibetan zone, The Cen-
tral or Himalayan zone and The Outer or Sub-Himalayan zone. The first zone lies
behind the line of highest elevation and is composed of continuous series of highly
12 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOHERITAGE
fossiliferous marine sedimentary rocks, ranging in the age from the earliest Palaeo-
zoic to the Eocene age. The central zone comprises mostly of crystalline and meta-
morphic rocks - granites, gneisses with unfossiliferous sedimentary deposits of very
ancient age. The third zone corresponding to the Shivalik range is composed entirely
of tertiary, and principally of upper tertiary, sedimentary river deposits (Figure 2).
High relief, snow-capped summit, deeply dissected topography, antecedent drainage,
complex geological structure and rich temperate floras in the sub-tropical latitudes
give a distinct character to the Himalayan mountain ranges. The Eastern Himalaya
covers an area of 67,500 sq. km. with many piedmont plateaus present in this area.
Geologically, this area is characterized by a fault scarp with well foliated schist abut-
ting against gneissic rocks and locally defining the lineament of artisans springs (Nag
& Sen Gupta, 1992).
Figure 2 Geodiversity in Himalaya - (a) Horizontal layering in Himalaya; (b) Loess structure in the
Lahul and Spiti, Himalaya
The most important ranges of Peninsula are: The Aravalli mountains, the Vindhyas,
Satpuras, the Western Ghats and irregular broken and discontinuous chain of eleva-
tions known as the Eastern ghats. Aravallis were a prominent feature of the old
Plaeozoic and Mesozoic era and extended as a chain of lofty mountains from the
Deccan to possibly beyond the northern limit of India. In present time, they are just
deeply eroded remnants laid bare by repeated cycles of erosion. The Vindhyas are for
the most part composed of horizontally bedded sedimentary rocks of ancient age. The
Vindhyas and Satpuras form the backbone of central India. The western and eastern
parts of Satpuras are formed of Cretaceous basalts; the central part is composed, in
addition to a capping of the traps, of a core of granitoid and metamorphic rocks over-
laid by Mesozoic sandstones. The Western Ghats, as the name Ghat denotes, are,
down to Malabar, steep-sided, terraced, flat toped hills or cliffs facing the Arabian
sea-coast running parallel to it. The horizontally bedded lavas of which they are
wholly composed have, on weathering, given rise to a characteristic "landing stair"
aspect. Beyond Malabar they are composed of very ancient massive crystalline rocks,
and not of horizontal layers of lava-flows. The broken and discontinuous line of
mountainous country, the eastern facing the Bay of Bengal, and known as the Eastern
Ghats, has neither the unity of structure nor of characteristic of a mountain-chain.
Among the remaining, but less important, hill ranges of the Peninsula are the
trap-built Rajmahal hills of western Bengal, the Nallamalai hills near Cuddapah, built
of gneissose granite, and the gneissic plateau of Shevaroys and Pachamalai,
south-west of Madras.
R.B. Singh, et al.: Geodiversity, Geogrphical Heritage and Geoparks In India 13
2.2 Desert
India has a vast desert comprising of about 390,000 hectare of land. The deserts of
India are diverse in nature and vary from hot sandy desert in the west to cold desert in
the north. The Indian deserts can be classified into following three forms.
2.2.1 The Sandy Desert of Rajasthan
The Thar desert is the western most fringe of the Deccan mainland forming shield
area of the Indian sub-continent during pre-Cambrian times. On the west rock expo-
sures are less frequent but known to include Malani igneous rocks, Vindhya, Marine
Jurassics and Eocene rocks. It is understood that this area was under sea during Juras-
sic times which is evident from fossils recovered in the Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan
(Figure 3). Highly fossiliferous marine deposits over Talchir beds show that species
lived in more or less isolated arms of large sea spread over the Himalayan region
(Chauhan & Sharma, 2008).
Figure 3 Desert diversity in Western Rajasthan - (a) Sand dunes in Thar desert and
(b) Cultivating sand dune
a sharp monoclinal flexure, and on the other side by gently dipping peripheral plains,
the strata (Tertiary) which dip gently into the surrounding residual depression (Biswas,
1980).
2.3 Coastal
The coast of India is comparatively regular and uniform, and contains marshes, la-
goons, mud-flats, peninsulas, creeks, gulfs, and islands. It is only on the Malabar
coast that there are many lakes, lagoons or back-waters which form a noteworthy
feature of that coast. These back-waters, e.g. the Kayals of Travancore, are shallow
lagoons or inlets of the sea lying parallel to the coastline. They form an important
physical as well as economic feature of the Malabar coast, affording facilities for
inland water-communication. The whole sea-board is surrounded by a narrow subma-
rine ledge platform, the "plain of marine denudation," where the sea is very shallow,
the depth being much less than 100 fathoms. This shelf is of greater breadth on the
Malabar coast and on the Arakan coast than on the Coromandel coast. From these low
shelving plains the sea-bed gradually deepens, both towards the Bay of Bengal and
the Arabian Sea, up to a mean depth of 2,000 fathoms in the former and 3,000 fath-
oms in the latter sea (Figure 4).
Figure 4 Geodiversity in Western coast of India – (a) Cove in North Canara coast and (b) Back-waters
The seas are not of any great geological antiquity, both having originated in the
earth movements of the early Tertiary times, as bays or arms of the Indian Ocean
overspreading areas of a large southern continent (Gondwanaland), which, in the
Mesozoic ages, connected India with Africa and with Australia. The islands of the
seas are continental islands, with the exception of the group of coral islands, the Mal-
dives and the Laccadives, which are atolls or barrier-reefs, reared on shallow subma-
rine banks, the unsubmerged, elevated points of the ancient continent. Barren Island
and Narcondam are volcanic islands east of the Andamans. The low level and smooth
contours of the tract of country which lies in front of the South-east coast below the
Mahanadi suggest that it was a submarine plain at a comparatively late date which has
emerged from the waters. Behind this coastal belt are the gneissic highlands of the
mainland, the Eastern Ghats, which are marked by a more varied relief and rugged
topography. Between these two lies the old shoreline.
versity of the country is responsible for the wider range of geosites. The natural geo-
sites vary from natural springs, caves to fossil parks.
3.1 Natural Springs and Glacial Lakes
Schiagintweit documented ninety-nine well-known thermal springs in India in 1864.
R. D. Oldham in the 19th century published the monumental work of his father, T.
Oldham (1882) which documented an inventory of three hundred thermal springs
covering the entire country (www.portal.gsi.gov.in assessed in December, 2012). The
Ministry of Power and Irrigation constituted a committee on 'Hot Springs' in the year
1963 to explore the commercial utilization potential of thermal springs in India. The
committee inducted members from the Geological Survey of India, National Geo-
physical Research Institute and Jadavpur University, Kolkata. All the thermal springs
of India were classified on the basis of their geo-tectonic setup and grouped into six
Geothermal Provinces viz. (i) Himalayan Province - Tertiary Orogenic belt with Ter-
tiary magmatism, (ii) Areas of Faulted blocks - Aravalli belt, Naga-Lushi, West coast
regions and Son-Narmada lineament, (iii) Volcanic arc - Andaman and Nicobar arc,
(iv) Deep sedimentary basin of Tertiary age such as Cambay basin in Gujarat, (v) Ra-
dioactive Province - Surajkund, Hazaribagh, Jharkhand and (vi) Cratonic province -
Peninsular India.
There are some 340 hot springs spread throughout India. Of these, 62 are distrib-
uted along the northwest Himalaya, in the States of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal
Pradesh and Uttarakhand. They are found concentrated along a 30-50 km. wide ther-
mal band mostly along the river valleys. Naga-Lusai and West Coast Provinces mani-
fest a series of thermal springs. Andaman and Nicobar arc is the only place in India
where volcanic activity has been reported. Some of the islands like Barren are still
active. The area is in the continuation of the Indonesian geothermal fields and can be
good potential sites for geothermal energy. Cambay graben geothermal belt is 200 km.
long and 50 km. wide with Tertiary sediments. Thermal springs have been reported
from the belt although they are not of very high temperature and discharge. The area
contains oil and gas at considerable depths. High subsurface temperature and thermal
fluid have been reported in deep drill wells in depth ranges of 1.7 to 1.9 km. Steam
blowout have also been reported in the drill holes in depth range of 1.5 to 3.4 km. The
thermal springs in the peninsular region are more related to the faults, which allow
down-circulation of meteoric water to considerable depths. The circulating water ac-
quires heat from the normal thermal gradient in the area, and depending upon local
condition, emerges out at suitable localities. The area includes Aravalli range,
Son-Narmada-Tapti lineament, Godavari and Mahanadi valleys and South Cratonic
Belts (Geological Survey of India, 2001). There are numerous glacial lakes in Hima-
layan region (Figure 5).
3.2 Fossil parks
Fossil parks serve as important keys for learning about the diversity and evolution of
life through time. The goals of fossil parks are not only to preserve the fossils in col-
lections but also to educate the public about the values of fossils, to instill a desire to
16 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOHERITAGE
Figure 5 Combining geodiversity and geographical heritage - (a) Transhumance and High Mountain
Spring and (b) Hemkund Sahib, religious site of Sikh religion
protect these valuable national resources, and to act as centers for international col-
laboration in research and conservation (Nareerat, Paul & Pratueng, 2009).
3.2.1 The Ghughua Fossil National Park of Madhya Pradesh is a unique desti-
nation in India, which has been blessed with a priceless treasure trove of plant fossils.
Fossils belonging to 31 genera of 18 plant families have been identified. These fossils
represent life as it occurred in this area some 65 million years ago. Well-preserved
fossils of woody plants, climbers, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds have been found
here. Palm fossils are particularly numerous. Interestingly, many of these fossil plants
have living relatives. Some of these occur in the Western Ghats, Sikkim and northeast
India, while many others are native to Africa, Madagascar and Australia. This proves
that at one time in the distant history of the earth, India, Australia and Africa formed a
single huge landmass that shared a common vegetation spread (Figure 6).
3.2.2 Siwalik Fossil Park, Saketi, Sirmur District, and Himachal Pradesh
(HP) contains a rich collection of 2.5 million year old vertebrate fossils from Siwaliks
which covers an area of about 1.5 sq. km. at Saketi, in the Markanda valley of Sirmur
district, HP and was built to check indiscriminate destruction of fossil bones. A large
and rare collection of vertebrate fossils recovered from Siwalik hills in Saketi and
adjacent areas has been displayed in a field museum in the park. The site has been
developed to a panorama of Plio–Pleistocene period (Ca 2.5 million years) through
massive afforestation. Besides securing global recognition and focused conservation
for the site, funding is also expected to pour in for advanced systematic research, in-
ternational collaborations and tourism development.
R.B. Singh, et al.: Geodiversity, Geogrphical Heritage and Geoparks In India 17
and richest deposit of phosphorite associated with stromatolite. It is another site pre-
serving evidences of early life on the earth. The stromatolites occur over a strike
length of 15 km. in rock phosphate within Precambrian Aravalli Supergroup of rocks.
The rock phosphate occurs in dolomitic limestone associated with stromatolites ap-
pearing in grey to bluish grey colour shades and in variable forms and shape (Geo-
logical Survey of India, 2001).
3.5 Natural Caves
In India, many caves are popular tourist sites. Although, there are thousands
of caves in India, research expeditions occur in very few states. The caves of Ajanta
and Ellora (Figure 7), Udaygiri, Barabar, Sigiriya, Undavalli and Pandavleni are fa-
mous for archaeological finds and ancient architectural value. Cave research in India,
encompassing the study of speleology and biospeleology, is still in its infancy.
The stalagmite formations present in most natural limestone caves resemble Shiva
Linga (an Indian God), due to which most of the caves in India are considered of
great religious import. In addition, several universally known caves related
to Buddhism also exist in India.
The Indian state of Meghalaya is famous for its many caves, which attract tourists
from India and abroad. The quantity and length of caves in Meghalaya exceeds that of
any other known Karst region of India. A few of the caves in this region have been
listed amongst the longest and deepest in the world. The limestone band of Megha-
laya extends from west to east along the southern boundary of the state and is
approximately 200 km. long and 30 km. wide. It runs from the West Garo Hills in the
west through the West Khasi Hills, East Khasi Hills and into the Jaintia Hills in the
east. The famous caves of Meghalaya are: Mawsmai Cave (Figure 8), Krem
Mawmluh, Krem Phyllut, Krem SohShympi, Krem Mawsynram, Krem Dam, Krem
LiatPrah, Krem Um-Lawan, KaKrem Pubon Rupasor, Krem Kotsati, Krem Um-
shangktat, Krem Lashinng, Krem Sweep, Siju-Dobkhakol, Tetengkol-Balwakol,
Dobhakol Chibe Nala, and Bok Bak Dobhakol.
Depicting the historical saga of Andhra Pradesh, the caves are spread all over the
area of the state. Housing the rock-cut statues of Lord Buddha, some of the caves date
back to the oldest of centuries. Today, these natural caves are some of the exquisite
tourist appeals of Andhra Pradesh. While the Belum caves of the state are the natural
underground passage ways that are well-known for being second to the Megha-
laya caves in terms of their length, Borra caves established near the river of Gosthani
R.B. Singh, et al.: Geodiversity, Geogrphical Heritage and Geoparks In India 19
are built of the inherent limestone deposits. Undavalli caves are yet another natural
splendour of Andhra Pradesh. Found by the side of the Krishna River, these caves are
believed to have been discovered in the early periods of the fourth and fifth centuries.
The Yaganti caves of Andhra Pradesh represents a beautiful conglomeration of pris-
tine natural subterranean channels. Other important caves of Andhra Pradesh are
Guthikonda caves, Guntupalli caves, and Moghalarajapuram. The state of Madhya
Pradesh is also an adobe of caves. The famous caves of Madhya Pradesh are Bhim-
betka, Bagh cave, Udayagiri caves and Jana Mana caves.
Figure 8 (a) Entrance of Mawsmai Caves, Meghalaya; (b) Inside view of Mawsmai caves
4.2 Deserts
The Geological Survey of India and Rajasthan State Mines and Minerals Limited have
identified many geographical heritage sites. Among them following are some few
sites:
4.2.1 NephelineSyenite, Kishangarh, Ajmer District, Rajasthan is a pluton em-
placed along the core of an antiform of metamorphites in Aravalli craton of Rajasthan.
Kishangarhsyenite, by which the unit is also called has been dated 1,590 million years
to 1,910 million years.
4.2.2 Barr Conglomerate, Pali District, Rajasthan composed of pebbles of
quartzite and rarely granite gneiss, set up in a fine grained pelitic matrix. It has un-
conformity with the basement gneiss in the vicinity of Barr. Conglomerates are im-
portant in geology as they aid in subdividing geologic history on the basis of sedi-
mentary breaks. The pebbles are stretched to an extraordinary extent, about 20 to 30
times their original dimension.
4.2.3 Sendra Granite, Pali District, Rajasthan It is a unique example of nature’s
capacity as a sculptor. Sendra granite, a plutonic igneous rock of about 900 million
years ago, intrudes into the Delhi Supergroup of metasedimentary rocks. Large bosses
are concordantly emplaced in the calc – gneiss while small bodies are mostly distrib-
uted in and around the hornblende schists.
R.B. Singh, et al.: Geodiversity, Geogrphical Heritage and Geoparks In India 21
4.2.4 Welded Tuff, Jodhpur District, Rajasthan in the Jodhpur Fort hill area oc-
curs within the terrace like weathered Malanivolcanics. The welded tuff, is a product
of emanations, that spurted out from volcanic vents and were carried away by air to
settle down. They are composed of glass, quartz and feldspar. On cooling they de-
velop joints which gives rise to columns and terraces.
4.2.5 Jodhpur Group – Malani Igneous Suite Contact, Jodhpur District, Ra-
jasthan lies at the foot of the picturesque Mehrangarh Fort within the Jodhpur city.
The igneous suite marks the last phase of igneous activity of Precambrian age in the
Indian Subcontinent. The rock is characterised by purple to red and ash coloured
laminated tuff with chocolate coloured chalcedony, dark red obsidian, purple, reddish,
buff, whitish and greyish coloured rhyolitic tuff related to ignimbrite. The contact is
enhanced by the multi-coloured igneous suite in contact with light coloured Jodhpur
sandstone.
4.2.6 Great Boundary Fault at Satur, Bundi District, Rajasthan is characterised
by a faulted boundary between Pre-Aravallis and Upper Vindhyans having NNW –
SSE trend. It represents a zone of disruption constituted by a number of parallel and
oblique faults resulting in a step like feature.
4.2.7 Eddy Current Markings at Panchmahal District, Gujarat are exposed in
sedimentary (sandstone) surface of Upper Aravalli Lunavada Group of rocks. These
marks are believed to result from dragging of a small limb of a larger floating log
caught in a vortex or eddy current of a stream or from a movement of a pebble. The
petrified marks of the eddies around the whirl balls, form spiral-ribs.
4.3 Coastal
There are many geological marvels on the coastline of India of which the following
have been explored by the Geological Survey of India:
4.3.1 Columnar Basaltic Lava, Coconut Island (St. Mary’s Islands), Udupi Dis-
trict, Karnataka displays majestic array of multi-faced columns developed in the
basalts of Deccan Trap. These marvellous structures, called Columnar Joints in geo-
logical parlance are nature’s exquisite handiwork. The geometrical form of the rock
mosaic resembles the work of an expert sculptor. The Deccan Trap, evolved due to
vast outpouring of hot molten basaltic lava in the western part of India during Creta-
ceous – Eocene time (about 60 million years ago) and are now present as flat topped
hills and step like terraces.
4.3.2 Charonockite, St. Thomas Mount, Chennai, Tamil Nadu is a typical expo-
sure of quartz-feldspar-hypersthene rock, characterized by presence of two pyroxene
facies metamorphism. The name ‘Charnockite’ originated from the use of the same
rock as tombstone of Job Charnock, the founder of Kolkata. The constituents of the
rock suggest of its origin in particularly 'dry' and high temperature condition and be-
lieved to have important bearing in elucidating primordial crustal evolution of the
earth.
4.4 Peninsular India
4.4.1 Peninsular Gneiss National Monument at Lalbagh, Bangalore, Karnataka
is composed of dark biolite gneiss of granitic to granodioritic composition containing
22 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOHERITAGE
streaks of biolite. Vestiges of older rocks are seen in the form of enclaves within the
gneiss.
Peninsular Gneiss of the region is dated 2500 to 3400 million years.
4.4.2 Pillow Lava, Maradihalli, Chitradurga District, Karnataka, hosted within
Chitradurga schist belt of Dharwar Group, is one of the best of its kind in the world.
They are formed when hot molten lava erupts under water and solidifies in the form
of roughly spherical or rounded pillow-shape. The lava gets chilled so suddenly that
part of the flow separates into discrete rounded bodies a few feet or less in size. This
pillow lava has been dated 2,500 million years.
4.4.3 Pillow Lava, Iron ore belt, Nomira, Keonjhar District, Orissa is an expo-
sure of well-preserved pillow structures. Individual pillows are roughly ellipsoidal
and closely packed with a maximum thickness of 2 m x 0.6 m. The basic lava is fine
to medium grained, green to bluish green coloured with abundant vesicles filled with
quartz. The lavas and the associated pyroclastics and tuffs are underlain by quartzite
and overlain by shale, chart – shale and banded hematite jasper.
4.4.4 Pyroclastic Rocks in Peddapalli, Kolar District, Karnataka is a welded
agglomerate of large fragments of granite, granite gneiss, basalt and banded ferrugi-
nous quartzite set in a matrix of ignimbrite. While many rock fragments are angular
some of them appear to be well rounded. Some rock fragments of granite gneiss
measure up to 80 cm in diameter.
4.4.5 Natural Arch in Tirumala hills, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh is one
such unique geological marvel in the country measuring 8 meters in width and 3
meters in height. It has been carved out of quartzite of Cuddapah Supergroup of
Middle to Upper Proterozoic (1,600 to 570 million years) by collective action of
weathering agents like water and wind over a long period of several thousands of
years.
4.4.6 Eparchaean Unconformity, Tirumala hills, Andhra Pradesh separates the
Proterozoic Nagari Quartzite from the oldest Archaean granite representing a time gap
of over 800 million years. The unconformity is supposed to be a period of remarkable
quiescence without much structural disturbance and igneous activity in the history of
earth.
4.5 Geographical Heritage as Tourist Sites
Geotourism is the provision of interpretive and service facilities to enable tourists to
acquire knowledge and understanding of the geology and geomorphology of a site
(including its contribution to the development of the Earth sciences/ Geographical
sciences) beyond the level of mere aesthetic appreciation (Hose, 1995). India is a
country with diverse physical attributes, rich cultural heritage and eventful ancient
history therefore tourism plays a major role in showcasing this great country to the
rest of the world. Of late, there has been significant initiative in promoting tourism
even in remotest corners of the country. Indian subcontinent exhibits imprints of var-
ied geological processes through the ages and is a storehouse of interesting geological
features. It is imperative that the tourist map of India would be greatly enriched by the
inclusion of these geological monuments and alike, so that the visitors from the coun-
try and abroad can have an insight in the real past - the formation of the subcontinent,
R.B. Singh, et al.: Geodiversity, Geogrphical Heritage and Geoparks In India 23
the orogeny, the paleo-environment and the exotic collection of paleo-flora and fauna
(Figure 11).
5 Geoparks in India
The idea of geopark is originally very much related to the geological scientific inter-
est of sites. However, landscape plays a role and the fact that social and economic
issues must be considered, the geological scope alone seems to be limited. Thus
“Geo” is more than geology; it involves geographical, geomorphological and land-
scape aesthetics as well. The concept of a geopark is particularly important for the
economic revival of economically depressed regions that thanked their early industri-
alization on mineral resources (Baele et al., 2012). India is a heaven, where you can
find many enjoyable places, experience the natural beauty of nature and also encoun-
tergreat historical places. The country can be called a 'Land of Geographical diversity'.
In a vast country of sub-continental dimensions like India whose rocks provide a
unique spectrum of geoheritage and geodiversity from the oldest (nearly 4,000 million
years old) to the youngest rocks, establishing geoparks for showcasing geological
attractions for public education, recreation and sustainable economic development,
can be a comprehensive panacea (Ahluwalia, 2006). UNESCO operates a Global
24 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOHERITAGE
Geopark Network (GGN) Programme under which people who live in areas of great
geological importance cooperate to preserve them. By 2012 a total of 91 geoparks
from 27 countries have been included in the GGN but the Government of India has
yet not established any geoparks. The Geological Monuments and fossil parks built by
the Geological Survey of India are in utter neglect.
The cliff overlooking the Varkala beach, a unique sedimentary geo-morphological
structure in an otherwise flat Kerala coast and the surrounding areas are on course to
become India’s first national geopark under a Geological Survey of India (GSI) initia-
tive to preserve geologically important sites in the country. Varkala is the only place
in the west coast of India where sediments in the mio-pliocene age (1.3 million to 25
million years ago) have been exposed. The geological monument/ geopark project
would help in protecting the endangered cliffs which preserve the pages of earth’s
history, nature’s chemical lab, and storehouse of micro fossils (Mahadevan, 2012).
Establishment of any geopark in country can also foster scientific research and coop-
eration with universities and research institutes, stimulating the dialogue between the
geosciences community and local population. A few other sites in North-East India
also have the potential to be developed as geoparks (Figure 12).
7 CONCLUSION
Geological features and processes are formed over millions of years and contain a
range of values that require special care. Fine crystal structures, such as those found
in limestone caves, may be easily broken by human breath, while fragile calcified
plant remains can be crushed by careless walkers. Other features including fossils
have been damaged or lost due to large scale activities such as mining and construc-
tion. Human activity can also bring changes to water quality, hydrology, soil forming
and development processes and local wind patterns, resulting in the deterioration or
loss of geological features that have formed under past climate or geological condi-
tions. Often described as relics or fossils, these features provide evidence of past life
and atmospheric, hydrological and biological processes and, if disturbed, will never
recover. Mapping geographical heritage is especially important in protected areas, as
it is essential for the prescriptive zoning of the territory and for the processes of im-
pact assessment. In India, local initiatives in scientific diffusion and education are
important to create awareness about geographical diversity, which need to be
achieved through capacity building for teaching about geoparks in life-long learning
programmes. The land use also poses threat to the geographical diversity and there-
fore, there is a need to integrate geoconservation in land-use planning. Lastly, there is
a need for a legal framework under National policy on geoparks to support geocon-
servation strategies involving local communities at different levels.
Acknowledgment
The authors are thankful to Mr. Ajay Gurjar for providing assistance for prepara-
tion of this paper.
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