The Dinosaur Route in El Castellar (Teruel, Spain): Palaeontology as a Factor of Territorial Development and Scientific Education in a Sparsely Inhabited Area

Abstract

Research into and conservation of geological heritage and the use of the knowledge gained for the education of the general public lay the groundwork for the creation and consolidation of specialised museums and the dissemination of knowledge among a more diverse audience. In this way, resources linked to Geology will become a territorial development factor and move societies to consider them as indispensable resources for their benefit. This, along with heritage laws, will ensure that these elements are provided with the stewardship to ensure their long-term care and maintenance. This action plan is being carried out with the geological and palaeontological heritage in some places of the province of Teruel (Spain) where, even in remote areas with little more than one inhabitant per square kilometre, the research, development and innovation have resulted in various museography actions in dinosaur sites. The Dinosaur Route in a small village called El Castellar, which already has other tourist attractions related to “terrible lizards”, is one example of research being placed at the service of territorial development in rural areas. The route is a 2.3-km walking trail that consists, mainly, of two dinosaur fossil sites that have been enabled for tourist visits which have great educational value for all audiences: Camino El Berzal, with tracks, and San Cristobal, with various original bones of a stegosaurid. The latter is the first site in Spain where dinosaur fossils can be seen in situ in a permanent exhibition.