Ancient Deep Sea Bottom in Modern Mountains: New Aspects of Geoheritage from Guzeripl in Southwestern Russia

Abstract

Geoheritage studies have different perspectives, among which treatment of geological features in relation to particular areas and settlements seems to be promising for better local planning and tourism organization. The small town of Guzeripl in the Western Caucasus (southwestern Russia) experiences tourism-triggered development. Five localities, which are parts of two earlier established geosites, are found directly in this settlement and in its vicinity. They show representative siliciclastic deposits dominated by shales, which accumulated on the deep bottom of the Caucasian Sea in the Early Middle Jurassic. New field investigations allowed for the collection of information regarding the improvement of the geological knowledge of this study area and the reconsideration of its geoheritage in relation to the settlement’s needs. Particularly, the tentative approach for the functional assessment of the localities was proposed and applied. It is established that the localities represent not only deep-marine siliciclastic deposits, trace fossils, and specific palaeoenvironment, but also the structural elements (anticline, syncline, and fault) of the complex deformed domain. They differ by functional value, with two of the most valuable localities directly in Guzeripl, and all of them can be employed for the settlements’ needs. Geoscientists, guided student groups, and geotourists can choose Guzeripl to collect new data, train, and for new impressions. Importantly, geotourism based on the considered localities can diversify the experience of visitors, and it can be combined with and facilitated by ecotourist activities already offered by the Caucasus State Nature Biosphere Reserve, which is famous for its natural heritage. The study area focuses on the spatial distribution of geoheritage relatively to the touristic patterns.