The Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) Boundary Site at Lech\xf3wka\u2014a New Point on the Geoheritage Map of Southeastern Poland

Abstract

A geological section exposed in an abandoned quarry at Lechówka near Chełm represents the most complete record of the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary interval in Poland. Here, a thin clay layer with impact ejecta marks the K-Pg boundary, making Lechówka the single place in Poland with a record of the impact that killed off the dinosaurs. Based on the geoheritage evaluation, the Lechówka outcrop represents a content value of rank intermediate between II and III with the iconographic, symbolic, documental and conceptual contents on the local, regional or even global scale. In spite of the obvious scientific and educational importance of the site, its present state is insufficient to attract ‘ordinary’ geotourists. In order to ameliorate this situation, transformation of the quarry into an officially protected geosite is called for. Only after a formal, technical and infrastructural upgrade of the Lechówka site, combined with popularisation in the media, tourist guidebooks, websites and natural history museums, will it have a chance to become a widely recognised point on the Cretaceous geoheritage map of southeastern Poland. The most important and already well-known localities on this map are the subterranean chalk mines at Chełm, a series of quarries around the mediaeval town of Kazimierz Dolny and a defunct underground phosphorite mine at Annopol, where there are plans for an educational-geotouristic centre.