Potential educational use of geomorphological units and landforms

Abstract

The inventory of the geological heritage of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, was carried out from 2012 to 2015 and resulted in the selection of 142 geosites in 11 geological frameworks representative of its geological history. Among the frameworks is the “Geomorphological units and landforms”, which includes fourteen geosites representative of the main geomorphological features in the area. Since these kinds of geosites are very suitable to interpretative and educational purposes, in this work we present both qualitative and quantitative assessments of the potential educational use of the geosites present in this geological framework. The assessment was carried out using the GEOSSIT platform, which was developed by the Geological Survey of Brazil (CPRM). The outcomes of the quantitative assessment made it possible to rank the geosites according to their importance. The geosites Jaraguá Peak and Itapeva Peak achieved the highest rankings, a result that reinforces their current use for tourist activities; on the other hand, the geosites Jureia Massif and Diabo Hill were the lowest ranked. The data obtained in this study suggest the need to establish educational measures that may increase activities of valorisation, dissemination and conservation of these geosites, and that take into account the geodiversity elements. In order to implement such measures, some support from public and private agencies is fundamental. In general, geosites present excellent conditions for the dissemination of geoscientific knowledge, making a key to the construction of a geoconservation conscience by the general public.