The Urban Geoheritage of Clermont-Ferrand: From Inventory to Management

Viktor Vereb,Dávid Karátson,Marie-Noëlle Guilbaud,Benjamin Van Wyk De Vries

doi:10.2478/quageo-2020-0020

Viktor Vereb, Dávid Karátson + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.2478/quageo-2020-0020

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Abstract

Abstract In sprawling urban areas, geoheritage is suppressed into limited niches. Potential geosites are highly vulnerable and could disappear completely during construction, or their integrity could be irreversibly modified. Here, we create an inventory of urban geoheritage for Clermont-Ferrand in France, recording more than 50 sites using the French national workflow. The results of the quantitative assessment have been used to differentiate between geosites (high scientific value) and geodiversity sites (limited scientific significance, important additional values). Finally, we discuss some important considerations on urban geoconservation, such as geotouristic itineraries or customized management strategies for each site and the whole city.

Highlights

We present how geoconservation and geoheritage inventorying can be adapted to an urban context, using the example of the city of Clermont-Ferrand, in the centre of the Auvergne region of the Massif Central, France (Fig. 1)
We presented the geosite inventory of the city of Clermont-Ferrand starting with the concept and methodology involved in the compilation process, moving to the discussion of future steps and applications, underlining the impact of the urban context on geoconservation
Most important phase of the inventorying, which consists of recording the surface elements and associated phenomena, geological outcrops and geomorphological landforms

Summary

Introduction

We present how geoconservation and geoheritage inventorying can be adapted to an urban context, using the example of the city of Clermont-Ferrand, in the centre of the Auvergne region of the Massif Central, France (Fig. 1). We identify all geological outcrops and landforms in the city and include them in a local inventory, assessing their geoheritage values. Using this inventory, we address some key issues of urban geoconservation and the possible popularization of geoheritage within a city. The topic is the geoheritage of ClermontFerrand, the multiple landforms and geological features associated with tectonic, volcanic and sedimentary processes related to major continental rifting. The city is located next to a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Chaîne des Puys – Limagne Fault Tectonic Arena, and shares

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