National Geological Monuments of India
National Geological Monuments are geographical areas of national importance and heritage, as notified by the Government of India's Geological Survey of India (GSI), for their maintenance, protection, promotion and enhancement of geotourism.[1][2][3]
List of National Geological Monuments
There are 34 notified National Geological Heritage Monument Sites of India. GSI or the respective State governments are responsible for taking necessary measures to protect these sites.[2][3]
No. | Image | Geo-Heritage site | Location | District | State | Geotourism Category | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Volcanogenic bedded Barytes | Mangampeta | Kadapa district | Andhra Pradesh | EcoGeo Monuments | [2] | |
2 | Tirupati Eparchaean Unconformity | in the steep natural slopes, road scars and ravines on the Tirupati-Tirumala Ghat road | Chittoor district | Andhra Pradesh | Stratigraphy Monuments | [2] | |
3 | Tirumala Natural Geological Arch | Tirumala Hills | Chittoor district | Andhra Pradesh | Geological Marvels | [2] | |
4 | ![]() | Erra Matti Dibbalu | the dissected and stabilized coastal red sediment mounds located between Vishakhapatnam and Bheemunipatnam | Visakhapatnam district | Andhra Pradesh | Geological Marvels | [2] |
5 | ![]() | Angadipuram Laterite | near Angadipuram PWD rest house premises | Malappuram district | Kerala | EcoGeo Monuments | [2] |
6 | ![]() | Varkala Cliff Section | Varkala | Thiruvananthapuram district | Kerala | Geological Marvels | [2] |
7 | ![]() | National Fossil Wood Park, Tiruvakkarai | near Thiruvakkarai village, Vanur taluk | Viluppuram district | Tamil nadu | Fossil Park | [2] |
8 | National Fossil Wood Park, Sathanur | Sathanur | Perambalur district, | Tamil nadu | Fossil Park | [2] | |
9 | St. Thomas Charnockite | St. Thomas Mount, Chennai | Chennai district | Tamil nadu | Rock Monuments | [2] | |
10 | Karai Badlands Formation Fossil Park | Badlands of Karai Formation with Cretaceous fossils along Karai – Kulakkalnattam Section | Perambalur district | Tamil nadu | Fossil Park | [2] | |
11 | Eddy Current Marking - Sedimentary Structures | Kadana Dam | Mahisagar district | Gujarat | Geological Marvels | [2] | |
12 | Sendra Granite | Pali district | Rajasthan | Geological Marvels | [2] | ||
13 | Barr Conglomerate | Pali district | Rajasthan | Rock Monuments | [2] | ||
14 | Stromatolite Fossil Park | Jharmar Kotra Rock Phosphate deposit | Udaipur district | Rajasthan | Stromatolite Park | [2] | |
15 | Gossan in Rajpura-Dariba Mineralised belt | Udaipur district | Rajasthan | EcoGeo Monuments | [2] | ||
16 | Bhojunda Stromatolite Park | Chittaurgarh district | Rajasthan | Stromatolite Park | [2] | ||
17 | Akal Wood Fossil Park | Jaisalmer district | Rajasthan | Fossil Park | [2] | ||
18 | Kishangarh Nepheline Syenite | Kishangarh | Ajmer district | Rajasthan | Rock Monuments | [2] | |
19 | Jodhpur Welded Tuff | Jodhpur district | Rajasthan | Rock Monuments | [2] | ||
20 | ![]() | Jodhpur Group – Malani Igneous Suite Contact | Jodhpur district | Rajasthan | Stratigraphy Monuments | [2] | |
21 | Great Boundary Fault at Satur | Bundi district | Rajasthan | Stratigraphy Monuments | [2] | ||
22 | Lonar Lake | Buldhana district | Maharashtra | Geological Marvels | [2] | ||
23 | Lower Permian Marine bed at Manendragarh (Marine Gondwana Fossil Park) | Surguja district | Chhattisgarh | Fossil Park | [2] | ||
24 | ![]() | Columnar Basaltic Lava of Coconut Island (St. Mary Island) | St. Mary's Islands | Udupi district | Karnataka | Rock Monuments | [2] |
25 | Pillow lavas near Mardihalli | Chitradurga district | Karnataka | Rock Monuments | [2] | ||
26 | Peninsular Gneiss of Lalbagh | Bangalore | Bangalore Urban district | Karnataka | Rock Monuments | [2] | |
27 | Pyroclastics & Pillow lavas of Kolar Gold fields | Peddapalli | Kolar district | Karnataka | Rock Monuments | [2] | |
28 | ![]() | Shivalik Fossil Park | Suketi | Sirmaur district | Himachal Pradesh | Fossil Park | [2] |
29 | Pillow Lava in lron ore belt at Nomira | Keonjhar district | Odisha | Rock Monuments | [2] | ||
30 | Plant Fossil bearing Inter-trappean beds of Rajmahal Formation | upper Gondwana sequence around Mandro | Sahibganj district | Jharkhand | Fossil Park | [2] | |
31 | Nagahill Ophiolite Site | near Pungro | Nagaland | Rock Monuments | [2] | ||
32 | Stromatolite bearing Dolomite / Limestone of Buxa Formation at Mamley | Namchi | South Sikkim district | Sikkim | Stromatolite Park | [2] | |
33 | Ramgarh crater | Ramgarh | Baran district | Rajasthan | Geological Marvels | [4] | |
34 | Zawar lead-zinc mine | Zawar | Udaipur district | Rajasthan | [4] |
Geo-tourism sites in Northeast India
There are 12 geo-tourism sites in Northeast India notified by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) for promotion of geo-tourism.[5][6][7]
No. | Image | Geo-Heritage site | Location | District | State | Geotourism Category and reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | Mawmluh Cave | Cherrapunji | East Khasi Hills district | Meghalaya | Geo-tourism: Cave belongs to Meghalayan Age, which is a major abrupt climatic event with critical drought and cooling 4,200 years ago which was determined from a stalagmite from Mawmluh cave.[8] In the geologic time scale, the Meghalayan is the latest age or uppermost stage of the Quaternary.[9] |
2 | Mawblei God’s Rock | East Khasi Hills district | Meghalaya | Geo-tourism: A megalith, Mahadek sandstone of Khasi group of cretaceous period, inclined at 45 degrees on a slope of a hill of Wahrashi River valley is a sacred site for Khasi people.[8] | ||
3 | Therriaghat | East Khasi Hills district | Meghalaya | Geo-tourism: Best-preserved and most complete Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary in India. Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous period caused sudden extinction of the large vertebrates, plankton and many tropical invertebrates.[8] | ||
4 | ![]() | Majuli | Majuli island | Majuli district | Assam | Geo-tourism: World's largest river island in Brahmaputra river has sacred Hindu Vaishnavite sampradaya's satra (kshetra or monasteries) set up by in 15th-16th century Srimanta Sankaradeva. The eco-region is conserved by the Srimanta Sankaradeva Sangha.[8] |
5 | Umananda Island | Brahmaputra river | Guwahati | Assam | Geo-tourism: islet is an inselberg made of rocks of Assam-Meghalaya gneissic complex.[8] | |
6 | ![]() | Chabimura | Gomati district | Tripura | Geo-tourism: 15th-16th century sacred Hindu site with rock carvings on a cliff of Gomti River with massive rock cut images of Shiva, Vishnu, Karthikeya, Durga and other Hindu deities highest of which is 20 ft.[8] | |
7 | Unakoti | Unakoti district | Tripura | Geo-tourism: 7th-9th centuries rock-cut sculptures and Shaiva temples. Unakotiswara Kal Bhairava shiva statue is 30 feet tall.[8] | ||
8 | ![]() | Sangestar Tso | Tawang district | Arunachal Pradesh | Geo-tourism: Also called as Madhuri Lake, created by damming of river due to earthquake in 1950, is nestled in a lush valley midst of snowy mountain peaks and freezes in winter.[8] | |
9 | ![]() | Loktak Lake | Bishnupur district | Manipur | Geo-tourism: It is a phumdi (floating biomass) with phumsangs (tribal huts of fishermen) which is also the Keibul Lamjao National Park - world's only floating wildlife habitat on the southwestern part of lake.[8] | |
10 | ![]() | Reiek Tlang | Aizawl | Mizoram | Geo-tourism: It is a cuesta (a hill with a gentle slope on one side and a steep slope on the other) created by erosion of the tertiary sand shale alterations.[8] | |
11 | Nagahill Ophiolite Site | Pungro | Kiphire district | Nagaland | Geo-tourism:[8] | |
12 | ![]() | Mamley Stromatolite Park | Namchi | South Sikkim district | Sikkim | Geo-tourism: Also called "Buxa Formation of Mamley", is Algal mat#StromatolitesStromatolite Algal mat with circular structures in the limestone of Proterozoic Buxa Formation microbiota microfossils of Ranjit Window is rare examples of early life on Earth in the Sikkim Himalayas.[8] |
See also
- Monuments of National Importance of India
- State Protected Monuments of India
- List of World Heritage Sites in India
- List of Water Heritage Sites in India
- List of columnar jointed volcanics in India
- Menhirs in India
- List of rock-cut temples in India
- List of forts in India
- List of museums in India
References
- ^ "National Geological Monument, from Geological Survey of India website". Archived from the original on 2017-07-12. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah "Geo-Heritage Sites". pib.nic.in. Press Information Bureau. 2016-03-09. Retrieved 2018-09-15.
- ^ a b national geo-heritage of India, INTACH
- ^ a b "Ramgarh, Zawar accepted as geo-heritage sites in Rajasthan". The Times of India. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
- ^ Karmakar, Rahul (2021-08-20). "GSI lists geo-tourism sites in NE to visit after 'unlock'". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2021-09-02.
- ^ "GSI lists geo-tourism spots in the Northeast to explore post-pandemic". Deccan Herald. 2021-07-10. Retrieved 2021-09-02.
- ^ "GSI lists geo-tourism sites in North east - JournalsOfIndia". 2021-08-24. Retrieved 2021-09-02.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l GSI lists geo-tourism sites in North east, Journals of India, August 24, 2021.
- ^ Cohen, K. M.; Finney, S. C.; Gibbard, P. L.; Fan, J-X. (January 2020). "International Chronostratigraphic Chart" (PDF). International Commission on Stratigraphy. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
External links
- Monograph on national geoheritage sites of India, by INTACH
- Interactive GIS map
- Map
- Information on Geo-Heritage sites
- v
- t
- e
- National Geological Monuments of India
- Sacred groves of India
- Sacred mountains of India
- Sacred rivers of India
- Stones of India