Promoting Geosites In The Community - The Escarpão Plateau (South of Portugal)

 The Escarpão Plateau, offers the possibility to observe and study the most complete sedimentary sequence of the Upper Jurassic of the Eastern Algarve (161,2 to 145,5 million years). Five geological formations are exposed along the Escarpão Plateau, from the oldest at the bottom of the valley of the Quarteira rivulet, to the most recent at the top: Peral Formation, Jordana Formation, Cerro da Cabeça Formation, Escarpão Formation and Limestone Formation with Anchispirocyclina lusitanica (foraminifera). Together, they bear witness to the carbonate ramp deposition of tepid waters of the Tethys domain, when present day Europe was still a mere set of islands. Throughout the Quaternary Period, the karst processes shaped a landscape of sparse and poor soils in which successive generations knew how to adapt their subsistence agriculture and way of life.

How should this type of geosite be promoted? The Algarvensis aspiring geopark opted to create several walking paths, among them, the 8 km path across the Escarpão Plateau passing though 11 points of interest, including biosites and geosites (with interpretative boards) and having a view to the surrounding cultural and historical heritage. This path will also be accompanied by an audioguide, so that the walker can embrace the sounds and the history of this geosite along the way. Furthermore, the geosite was promoted by the Portuguese Geologists Association by fieldwork and the formation of 70 national secondary teachers and by the Science Centre of Algarve as a reference for Summer Science activities about paleoecology, using corals and other fossils as proxies. The communication with the community has also been increased to get their opinions and their collaboration in the application for UNESCO Global Geopark.