The book “A History with Many Millions of Years – From the Thetys Ocean to the Algarve Barrocal”, which tells the geological history of the Escarpão Plateau, will be presented next Thursday, October 6, from 18:00, at the Educational Center of Cerro de Ouro, in Paderne (Albufeira).
This is a joint edition by the Municipality of Albufeira and the aspiring UNESCO World Geopark, authored by Delmina Moura and Sónia Oliveira, researchers at the University of Algarve, which had the collaboration in the field research of Luís Pereira, coordinator at the Municipality of Albufeira responsible for the candidacy of Algarvensis to UNESCO.
José Carlos Rolo, mayor of Albufeira, does not hide his pride with the publication of this publication, which will make known a part of the territory of the aspiring UNESCO World Geopark.
«Our Escarpão well deserves the publication of this book, this commendable study on a unique area of immeasurable interest in understanding the evolution of Planet Earth. And this means giving power back to the stones, along the limestone back that we see when we turn our backs to the sea to see its past in the present», highlights the mayor.
“This knowledge is crucial for the future. And it's no secret, we've said it on other occasions, in addition to scientific knowledge, we intend to combine a sustainable economy, promoting geotourism with emphasis on the landscape, history, knowledge and traditions, culture, the built heritage, helping , in this way, to fix the population in a parish that is aging and supporting the local economy", he said, also reinforcing the idea that "we are all ambassadors of this heritage, rich in diversity, in history and in promise of the future".
«This is an unusual work, as it seeks to tell the long geological history of a specific place, with an approach that is both scientific and dissemination», says Nuno Pimentel in the preface to the publication.
The book tells the geological history of the Planalto do Escarpão and surrounding regions, now one of the 10 main geosites to be part of the candidacy of the aspiring Geopark Algarvensis to the UNESCO World Network, but which, at the same time, highlights the geological history of the Algarve basin born millions of years ago in the Thetys Ocean.
«The interpretation of the landscape as we currently perceive it has not been forgotten and will contribute to a closer look at the Barrocal do Algarve», says the Albufeira Chamber.
Cristina Veiga-Pires, scientific director of the project, reinforces the importance of the work, stressing that, when reading the book, «the Planalto do Escarpão naturally appears as one of the most relevant geosites in the territory of the aspiring Algarvensis Geopark».
«You can see the scientific importance of its geological history, the educational interest of its rocks and fossils, the cultural relevance of its landscape, which together form a new tourist potential», he adds.
In the case of the Planalto do Escarpão, this potential took the form of a new pedestrian route: the PR4 – A Dive in the Jurassic Sea”. It is the first course designed from scratch for the aspiring Algarvensis, having been designed based on the knowledge presented in this book.
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