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Geology’s Significant Sites and their Contributions to Geoheritage

15 January 2025

This Special Publication offers a fascinating collection of papers that cover and reflect widely different perspectives covered by geoheritage. The editors openly state that they have excluded many sites that geologists might have expected to see in such a volume. Instead, they have used diversity as their theme, from the diversity of perspectives regarding geoheritage and its definition, to diversity of sites, even including a modern submarine example as a candidate geoheritage site. The volume comprises an informative collection of papers from across the globe. There is some bias towards North American sites, reflecting the editors’ home base, but overall, the papers cover a range of geography, geological time, and exposure type. 

Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the volume. The papers reflect the challenges faced in preserving sites that have either or both geological significance and societal or historical relevance. Papers span a wide range of world-famous locations such as the Canadian Burgess Shale, the Dorset Jurassic coast, and the Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. It was also great to see a celebration of some of geology’s unsung heroes, such as Mary Anning. Lesser-known candidate geoheritage sites in Jamaica, Angola, and even deep-sea hydrothermal vents are also covered. 

As we recognise how many important sites are threatened by urban expansion and the closure and infill of quarries and former opencast mines, geoheritage has become increasingly important. The book is a timely reminder to all geologists of the value of championing geoheritage and preserving key sites of historical relevance and/or geological significance. How often are we frustrated at the loss of an outcrop exposing a key stratigraphic succession or geological features that are rare or even unique? This volume emphasises the challenges we face. As the editors say in their introductory review, ‘every outcrop has the potential to be great’; it is those with specific societal or scientific significance that merit geoheritage status and focus. 

The editors have done a good job in assembling a diverse collection of papers collectively highlighting the importance of geoheritage to us all – a subject area that has been championed by the Geological Society for several years now. I can see the book being a valuable reference to many working in this area of geology, as well as of interest to those of us geologists and historians with a keen interest and appreciation of the subject area. 

Reviewed by Mike Bowman  

 

Details 

BY: R.M. Clary, E.J. Pyle, & W.M. Andrews (eds.) (2024). Geological Society of London Special Publication No. 543. 480 pp. (hbk) 

ISBN: 9781786206008 

PRICE: £100.00 (£50.00 for Fellows, £60.00 for other Societies) www.geolsoc.org.uk