The study of the surface of the Earth and the emerged lands, that is the relationship between the morphology of the land, understood as the origin, evolution and relief of the territory, and the agents and events which have shaped it, made the Aspromonte Geopark to be truly unique in the geological and geographical European panorama. This condition has made it possible to outline a series of very important aspects which actually represent the “geological identity” of this Park.
GEOMORPHOLOGY
The sequence of marine and continental terraces
The Big Stones and the Monoliths
The waterfalls
The valleys of the Fiumare: Amendolea, La Verde, Buonamico, Careri
The “dolomitic” landscape of Canolo with its pinnacles and spires
The crystalline-metamorphic rocks
The large landslides and deep-seated gravitational slope deformations
These landscapes have always imprinted culture and diversity onto the people living there, which is necessary for humanity at least as much as biodiversity for nature.
“The difficult story of the Earth lies in the rocks and in the landscape which can be observed on its surface; the whole represents the “Memory of the Earth”. Only in these sites, and only there, it is possible to trace the processes which have occurred over thousands of millions of years and which have created the current aspect of our planet, including the evolution of life where that of human is inserted in. What is preserved in the rocky outcrops and in the landscape is to be considered unique, and sometimes very fragile. For this it is necessary to reflect about the fact that what is lost of this heritage can never be restored or rebuilt, and it is therefore necessary to understand and proceed with its protection.”
The concept dates back to 1991, expressed by a group of geologists on the occasion of the International Declaration of the Rights of the Memory of the Earth.
