La Garrotxa Volcanic Field of Northeast Spain

Case Study of Sustainable Volcanic Landscape Management

herausgegeben von: Joan Martí, Llorenç Planagumà

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Buchreihe : Geoheritage, Geoparks and Geotourism

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik"

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Über dieses Buch

This informative book takes readers on an enjoyable journey through the La Garrotxa volcanoes. In addition to a general description of the main geological and volcano logical values of the region, it also provides a detailed account of the history of the region, its biological diversity, and its cultural heritage including architecture, folklore and gastronomy. La Garrotxa Volcanic Zone was declared a Natural Park in 1982 to protect the numerous sites of special interest that are found in this region. The Natural Park has been pioneering in many initiatives aimed at preserving the landscape and natural values and promoting awareness of the area within the community. An important part of this book is dedicated to the insights into the educational programs and outreach developed to disseminate the main values of this region. It shows how sustainable tourism has been implemented and the management plan that has been designed to preserve such important natural and cultural values. Including local experts’ views on the topics covered, this book will appeal to a general audience interested not only in visiting the area but also in gaining insights into an example of geoheritage and geoconservation that has successfully integrated of education, tourism, planning and environmental management.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. The Character of the Volcanic Landscape of La Garrotxa

Abstract

All landscapes are the perceptible product of a dynamic combination of abiotic (geological substrata), biotic (flora and fauna) and anthropic (human activities) elements that convert the whole into a social and cultural amalgam in a continual state of evolution. The landscape is thus both a physical reality and the cultural representation that we make of it. It is the visible external physiognomy of a certain part of the Earth’s surface and the individual and social perception that it generates—a tangible geographical entity whose interpretation is intangible. It is both the signifier and the signified, the container and the contents, reality and fiction. That is, it has a physical, material dimension and a spiritual, symbolic and perceptive dimension. Human societies use their cultures to transform original landscapes into cultural landscapes that are characterised not only by certain types of constructions, for example, but also by the translation of human values and sentiments onto the very landscape. Thus, the volcanic landscape of La Garrotxa is a paradigm as it encompasses and concentrates all these ingredients in a highly singular fashion that render it attractive on both a European and world scale.

Joan Nogué, Pere Sala i Martí

Chapter 2. Geological Setting of La Garrotxa Volcanic Field

Abstract

Situated in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, La Garrotxa Volcanic Field is part of the Catalan Volcanic Zone and one of the provinces of the Neogene-Quaternary alkaline volcanism associated with the European Rift System. It covers about 600 km² and lies between the cities of Olot and Girona (Fig. 2.1). This basaltic volcanic field contains over 50 cones (including both cinder and scoria cones), lava flows, tuff rings and maars dating from the Middle Pleistocene to the early Holocene, which rest either on upper Palaeozoic granites and schists or on sedimentary Eocene and Quaternary substrata. Available petrological and geochemical data indicate that this region consists of a suite of intracontinental leucite, basanites, nepheline basanites and alkali olivine basalts, which in most cases represent primary or near-primary magmas, their geochemical characteristics being very similar to analogous petrologic types found in other European Cenozoic volcanic zones.

Joan Martí, Xavier de Bolós, Llorenç Planagumà

Chapter 3. Habitats of La Garrotxa

Abstract

Relief, diversity of substrata, climate and the geographical position of La Garrotxa in the eastern Pyrenees, a region with a fascinating biological history, are the principal factors that explain the great diversity of species and habitats found in this county.

Xavier Olive

Chapter 4. History and Culture of La Garrotxa

Abstract

Like the rest of Catalonia, La Garrotxa is a land through which a multitude of different peoples have passed and left their mark. History knows no pauses and so should be seen as a continuum. Yet, it is often easier to study past times if they are divided into periods or ‘eras’. The criteria used to establish such divisions are often highly debatable and a more realistic approach will depend on specific territorial and cultural considerations, which will either temper or reinforce any attempt at periodisation.

Mireia Tresserras, Eva Duran

Chapter 5. Geosites and Geoitineraries

Abstract

This chapter of the book offers a general but detailed view of the main features of the volcanism in La Garrotxa Volcanic Field. A number of selected outcrops and viewpoints from the northern (La Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park) and southern sectors of this volcanic field are described, and indications are given on how to reach them.

Joan Martí, Llorenç Plangumà, Xavier de Bolós

Chapter 6. Cultural and Natural Sites

Abstract

Aside from its geology, La Garrotxa Volcanic Field also boasts many sites of great natural and cultural or historical interest, several of which are described in this chapter (Fig. 6.1).

Mireia Tresserras, Xavier Oliver, Llorenç Planagumà

Chapter 7. Educational Programmes

Abstract

Just over 200 years ago the Olot naturalist Francesc Xavier de Bolòs made known to the scientific community the existence of the volcanic landscapes of La Garrotxa. La Garrotxa volcanic zone is an area of great geological, wildlife and scenic interest, and, despite being a highly humanised region, its inhabitants have over the years ensured the conservation of this natural heritage. However, urban and industrial growth in the 1960s engendered a series of damaging environmental problems including quarrying, construction projects, polluted rivers and a proliferation of illegal rubbish tips that seriously endangered the region’s natural values. The need to protect La Garrotxa and its volcanoes provoked a series of public demonstrations that prompted the Catalan Parliament to approve in 1982 a law—the first ever passed in Catalonia designed to protect a natural area—aimed at guaranteeing the protection of the county’s landscapes. Its stated objective was to ensure the conservation of the region’s geological, botanical and scenic riches—but not at the expense of the area’s economic development.

Octavi Bonet

Chapter 8. Geotourism in La Garrotxa

Abstract

Geotourism is tourism based on geology and promotes geological conservation at the same time as it encourages the economic and social development of local communities. ‘Volcanic tourism’ is one particular type of geotourism. Volcanoes and volcanic landscapes have a worldwide fascination and many are visited annually by huge numbers of people.

Llorenç Planagumà, Isabel Junquera, Esther Canal

Chapter 9. Management Plan

Abstract

This chapter reviews the management of the geological heritage of La Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park, and includes both an evaluation of the strategy that was approved in 2004 and a discussion of the current and future work devoted to conserving the area’s remarkable natural heritage and fomenting its sustainable use.

Llorenç Planagumà

Backmatter

Titel: La Garrotxa Volcanic Field of Northeast Spain
herausgegeben von: Joan Martí
Llorenç Planagumà
Verlag: Springer International Publishing
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-42080-6
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-42078-3
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42080-6