LIG Canarias

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The youngest island in the archipelago hides a wide geodiversity

With just 1 Ma, El Hierro is the westernmost island of the Canary archipelago and the youngest in geological age. However, this last aspect is not an excuse to contain an important variety of geological forms that have made it worthy of the declaration as UNESCO World Geopark. During the campaign of November 2018 we visited several sites along its northern coast, which cut out and cliffs lodge entrances, points and stone arches, some of which constitute geosites. Towards the northeastern end, between the localities of Tamaduste and Timijiraque, you can see some fossil beaches of scarce surface, although they constitute an important paleontological patrimony since they are practically the unique in the island.

El Tamaduste (El Hierro)
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Fieldwork in El Tamaduste area (El Hierro).
From left to right: Ana Villalba, Luisa Anceaume (manager of El Hierro UNESCO Global Geopark), Pedro Padr?, Esther Mart?, Carmen Romero, In? Galindo y Juan J Coello-Bravo.

During our stay in El Hierro we also attended the 65th Scientific Meeting of the Geological Society of Spain, held between November 23 and 25, where we presented two papers that will be published in the magazine Geogaceta, one related to the geological contexts of the Canary Islands and another about the paleontological heritage of the Geopark. At the same time, we held work meetings and field visits with the Geopark technicians, to exchange knowledge and establish new lines of work.
Lanzarote and La Graciosa include amazing geosites

Lanzarote has always been considered an island with geoheritage of international relevance. After all, it has the Global Geosite ?Timanfaya Recent Volcanism?. However, Lanzarote and La Graciosa hide many more geosites, either due to its scientific, tourist, or educational value. For this reason, the field campaign of LIGCANARIAS project, carried out at the end of October 2018, has focused its attention on the study of geosites such as Piedra Alta tsunami deposit or the rotational landslide in valle de Fenauso, both in Lanzarote; and Las Conchas beach-dunes system or the intertidal spout of la Caleta de Aguardiente in the island of La Graciosa.

Professor Carmen Romero (University of La Laguna) in La Caleta de Aguardiente, La Graciosa
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Professor Carmen Romero (University of La Laguna) in La Caleta de Aguardiente, La Graciosa

The project LIGCANARIAS (project ProID2017010159) is funded by the Canary Island Agency of Research, Innovation and Society of Information (ACIISI) of the Canarian Government and it is co-funded by the operational programmes FEDER and FSE of the Canaries 2014-2020.
Paleontological heritage hidden in El Confital

El Confital bay hides palaeontological sites of great scientific interest that are being studied within the frame of the LIGCANARIAS project. After the first fieldworks, the preliminary results have been presented in the? ?XXXIV Conference of Palaeontology? and the ?IV Iberian Congress of Palaeontology?, which took place at the end of September 2018 in Vila Real (Portugal), in the premises of the University of Tr?-os-Montes e Alto Douro. Alberto Gonz?ez Rodr?uez, pre-doctorate Researcher at the Universidad of La Laguna, laid out the preliminary results on his findings in one of the most important palaeontological sites in the Canary Islands, El Confital site in La Isleta, in the northeast of Gran Canaria.

Alberto Gonz?ez Rodr?uez
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Alberto Gonz?ez Rodr?uez
at one of the rocky outcrops in El Confital

The study submitted does a review of two fossil-bearing deposits; one of the Miocene period (over 6 million years) and another of the Marine Isotopic State MIS5e (of approx. 125.000 years), which are found in close proximity geographically and whose palaeobiodiversity and state of conservation make them sites of great relevance for science and candidate to become part of the inventory of geosites of the Canaries.?

The project LIGCANARIAS (project ProID2017010159) is funded by the Canary Island Agency of Research, Innovation and Society of Information (ACIISI) of the Canarian Government and it is co-funded by the operational programmes FEDER and FSE of the Canaries 2014-2020.

Pdf Paper
First field campaign of the LGICANARIAS (SGICANARIAS) project in Gran Canaria

Between the 13th and 19th September 2018 the geosites of a regional relevance in Gran Canaria have started to be reviewed. In this campaign the sites visited have been the Roque Nublo, the log casts included in the sliding facies of the Roque Nublo breccia, and several palaeontological sites in La Isleta and those of the Detrital Formation in Las Palmas. During fieldwork these sites have been checked as well as their state of conservation.

The project LIGCANARIAS (project ProID2017010159) is funded by the Canary Island Agency of Research, Innovation and Society of Information (ACIISI) of the Canarian Government and it is co-funded by the operational programmes FEDER and FSE of the Canaries 2014-2020.

Tree mold in the Roque Nublo Formation
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Tree mold in the Roque Nublo Formation

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