Geotourism in the territory of the COREDE Campanha (‘southern-half’ of the Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil): ex situ geoheritage elements, contexts and identities

Abstract

This paper brings an assessment of ex situ geoheritage elements, as well as of geodiversity-related contexts and identities for the COREDE Campanha territory of the ‘southern half’ of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. The ex-situ elements are fossils of extinct animals of Permian (amphibians and para-reptiles) and Pleistocene (mammal megafauna, especially ground sloths) ages. Curious or interesting geoheritage contexts, such as the coal-forming Permian wetlands, an oceanic lithosphere slab, or very ancient craton areas have also been highlighted. Finally, the paper approaches the artisanal gold miners’ identity and the metallic ore mining memory, along with their rich built cultural heritage. By means of an adequate interpretation, such features can be added to geosites within a broad geotourism strategy for the territory of COREDE Campanha.

Keywords

• geodiversity
• geoheritage
• geomemory
• geo interpretation