Geoheritage and Geotourism

Europe's engagement from the late sixteenth century onwards in scientific Earth science inquiry has generated numerous and varied collections of minerals, rocks, and fossils, together with their associated archives, artworks and publications, forming a rich cultural geoheritage held in major private and especially royal and aristocratic collections, museums, universities, archives and libraries. The mines, quarries, geological structures, landforms, minerals, rocks and fossils – or geodiversity – that underpin these collections populate past and present-day Earth science literature. However, for too long their scientific, historic and cultural significance was not universally recognised and generally they were not accorded adequate resources and protection – or geoconservation. Hence, geotourism was developed in the 1990s to raise public awareness of Europe's geoheritage and geodiversity and to promote its geoconservation; Geoheritage and Geotourism's theoretical essays and case studies examine these four core geoelements and provide a timely introduction for anyone interested in natural history museums, countryside management, and landscape-based tourism.

- Introduction: Geoheritage and Geotourism - Thomas A. Hose
- Britain and Europe's Geoheritage - Thomas A. Hose
- Geological Inquiry in Britain and Europe: a Brief History - Thomas A. Hose
- Museums and Geoheritage in Britain and Europe - Thomas A. Hose
- Geoheritage for Sale: Collectors, Dealers and Auction Houses - Thomas A. Hose
- Geoheritage in the Field - Thomas A. Hose
- Geoconservation: an Introduction to European Principles and Practices - Jonathan Larwood
- Geotourism in Britain and Europe: Historical and Modern Perspectives - Thomas A. Hose
- Protecting and Promoting the Geoheritage of South-Eastern Europe - Thomas A. Hose and Djordjije Vasiljevic
- Geoheritage Case Study: the Isle of Wight, England - Martin Munt
- A Geoheritage Interpretation Case Study: the Antrim Coast of Northern Ireland - Kevin Crawford
- A Geoheritage Case Study: GeoMôn in Wales - John Conway and Margaret Wood
- Geoheritage Case Study: The Ruhrgebiet National GeoPark, Germany - Volker Wrede
- Geoheritage Case Study: Andalucia, Spain - Thomas A. Hose
- Geoheritage Case Study: Geotourism and Geoparks in Scotland - John Gordon
- Geoheritage Case Study: Canton Valais, Switzerland - Emmanuel Reynard
- Geoheritage Case Study: the Danube Region in Serbia - Djordjije Vasiljevic and Slobodon Markovic and Nemanja Tomic
- Conclusion - Thomas A. Hose