Thomas A. Hose 
Geoheritage and Geotourism 
A European Perspective

Essays on aspects of the natural world, its heritage, and how best to preserve it.


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 itsgeoconservation; the volume’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-basedtourism.


Dr Thomas A. Hose is an Honorary Research Associate in the School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol. He has pioneered the recognition of and research into geotourism, and is the author of the world’s first doctoral thesis on the subject.


Contributors: Kevin Crawford, Peter Davis, John E. Gordon. Thomas A. Hose, Jonathan G. Larwood, Slobodan B. Markovic, Martin Munt, Emmanuel Reynard, Nemanja Tomic, Djordjije A. Vasiljevic, Margaret Wood, Volker Wrede

Table des matières

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: Geo Môn in Wales – John Conway and Margaret Wood

Geoheritage Case Study: The Ruhrgebiet National Geo Park, 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