THE GEOLOGICAL AND GEOMORPHOLOGICAL MONUMENTS OF UKRAINE AND THEY SIGNIFICANCE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NATURAL-COGNITIVE TOURISM

Abstract

The article reviews publications devoted to geological and geomorphological monuments of Ukraine highlights specific features of their formation in different regions and reveals their importance for the development of nature-cognitive tourism as a basis for the formation of the tourism industry. The methodological unity of the concepts "geological monuments" and "geomorphological monuments", which characterize the original course of natural processes and their results and therefore have great scientific and cognitive value are considered. Emphasis is placed on the important participation of geomorphological processes in the formation of natural monuments, which show different geological monuments on the earth's surface and reflect not only the features of geological factors but also the diversity of relief processes, their dynamics, which determines the status of most monuments as "geological and geomorphological". Important for establishing the protection status of geological and geomorphological monuments are the developed criteria for assessing the aesthetics of the relief of Ukraine, its uniqueness, the presence of features "architecture-composition", combination with other elements of the landscape, stability or mobility, imagery – photogenicity, visual effect, emotional perception, attractiveness, etc. It is noted that the category of natural phenomena "geological and geomorphological monuments" is characterized by significant conservatism compared to other components of the natural environment. Such monuments are carriers of paleogeographic and ethnocultural content, which, in addition to scientific significance, gives them the status of interesting tourist attractions. This creates an opportunity for the development of nature-cognitive tourism, which can be both independent and successfully complements all other known types of tourism. Geological and geomorphological monuments influence the nature of recreational activities. The specificity and sequence of recreational functions of the relief of Ukraine according to the special properties of endogenous, exogenous, and anthropogenic genetic varieties of recreational geological and geomorphological monuments have been established. Key words: geotourism; nature-cognitive tourism; geological-geomorphological monuments; geoheritage of Ukraine.