The human imprint on the unique geological landscape of the Western Caucasus
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Date
2020-12
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Instytut Geologii UAM
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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.
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Keywords
artificial landform, geotourism, megaclast, quarry lake, southwest Russia
Citation
Geologos 26, 3 (2020): 233-244