Geoheritage Inventory of the Lanzarote and Chinijo Islands UNESCO Global Geopark

Abstract

Lanzarote and Chinijo Islands are part of the Canary archipelago situated in the Atlantic Ocean and they have been included into the UNESCO Global Geopark network since 2015. The formation and evolution of Lanzarote and Chinijo Islands can be understood through the visit of 82 geosites, included in eight geological frameworks, which are representative of the geology and geodiversity of a volcanic oceanic island in a semiarid climate. Most geosites are of international or national relevance, but this Geopark has representative and unique geosites where more than 20% of them are included in the "Recent volcanism of Timanfaya (Lanzarote)" geosite of the Global Geosites Project that is the global inventory of Earth's geoheritage (ProGeo and IUGS-UNESCO). The new inventory supposes a change in the limits of the geopark, which would now extend from the sea floor to the emerged parts of the island of Lanzarote and Chinijo Islands. Most of the geosites are well preserved since they are located in Natural Protected Areas. However, a first approach to their geoconservation status allows us to identify some problems such as furtive extraction of rocks and fossils, urban and tourist pressure, and extractive activities or natural processes that have supposed, in some few cases, the irreversible loss of their geoheritage.