UNESCO has given its designations to a number of locations around the world.
There are the 3 WORLD HERITAGE SITES, which have a range of different designations, including the cultural heritage of Thingvellir, and the physical landscapes of Surtsey and the Vatnajökull National Park.
I shall talk about each of those in more detail in a series of future blog posts.
Geoparks are a variation on this, and reflect the geological significance of places.
The Reykjanes Peninsula is described as follows on the website:
The Reykjanes Peninsula is a young section of Iceland. It is a land-born, highly volcanic counterpart of the Mid-Atlantic Spreading Ridge where two tectonic plates part at an average rate of 2.0-2.5 cm/yr.
The peninsula, with an area of 2,000 sq. km, contains late Quaternary volcanic palagonite tuff and pillow lava formations as mountains from the last glacial periods. Also basaltic lava flows and volcanic structures from interglacial periods, especially from the last 11,500 years (the Holocene).
Four volcanic systems and fissure swarms line the peninsula from SW to NE. They contain open fissures, normal faults, high-temperature geothermal fields and volcanic fissures. These are lined with monogenetic craters.
Many small and large lava shields are found in the area, some made of primitive mantle melt (picrite). Eruptions have occurred in the three westernmost systems during the past millennium, all in long episodes, in the 10/11th centuries, in 1151-1180 and 1210-1240.
There are 55 sites in the GeoParks.
Reykjanes UNESCO Global Geopark is an area of 829 square kilometers, 0.85% of Iceland.
There are the 3 WORLD HERITAGE SITES, which have a range of different designations, including the cultural heritage of Thingvellir, and the physical landscapes of Surtsey and the Vatnajökull National Park.
I shall talk about each of those in more detail in a series of future blog posts.
Geoparks are a variation on this, and reflect the geological significance of places.
The Reykjanes Peninsula is described as follows on the website:
The Reykjanes Peninsula is a young section of Iceland. It is a land-born, highly volcanic counterpart of the Mid-Atlantic Spreading Ridge where two tectonic plates part at an average rate of 2.0-2.5 cm/yr.
The peninsula, with an area of 2,000 sq. km, contains late Quaternary volcanic palagonite tuff and pillow lava formations as mountains from the last glacial periods. Also basaltic lava flows and volcanic structures from interglacial periods, especially from the last 11,500 years (the Holocene).
Four volcanic systems and fissure swarms line the peninsula from SW to NE. They contain open fissures, normal faults, high-temperature geothermal fields and volcanic fissures. These are lined with monogenetic craters.
Many small and large lava shields are found in the area, some made of primitive mantle melt (picrite). Eruptions have occurred in the three westernmost systems during the past millennium, all in long episodes, in the 10/11th centuries, in 1151-1180 and 1210-1240.
There are 55 sites in the GeoParks.
Reykjanes UNESCO Global Geopark is an area of 829 square kilometers, 0.85% of Iceland.
There the Mid-Atlantic Ridge rises above sea level.
Various forms of volcanic activity that has shaped the peninsula for a long time. In the Geopark it’s easy to find geothermal activity and see the shaping of different landscapes, hundreds of different craters, caves and lava fields, a variety of bird life, astonishing cliffs, high geothermal activity, and black sand beaches.
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