Palaeontological Heritage as a Resource for Promoting Geotourism in the Rural Setting: El Castellar (Teruel, Spain)

Abstract

The province of Teruel in Spain is one of the significant places in the world with respect to museographic initiatives focused on research and geological heritage. One of the latest initiatives has centred on the village of El Castellar, which lies 40 km from the city of Teruel and has just 58 inhabitants. The palaeontological activities that have taken place here since 2002 have brought to light 61 sites bearing dinosaur fossils (bones and tracks) within five geological formations covering the period from the Kimmeridgian to the Aptian. The high diversity of vertebrate fossils unearthed has favoured a number of museographic projects, including a dinosaur route (DINOpaseo por El Castellar), the Jurassic Via Ferrata and the El Castellar Dinosaur Tracksite. Tourists can admire many dinosaur fossils and tracks by following routes around the streets of the village or in the natural environments where they are found. These initiatives represent a good example between palaeontological research and territorial development.