The park became a global geopark in 2006. It covers an area of 320 km2. Its landscape is closely related to the geology. The ridges are composed of hard limestone, while the gorges formed on soft clay, carbonates and other rocks. Sedimentation occurred from 200 million to 25 million years ago from the Jurassic to the Palaeogene and into the Neogene. The rocks in Subbeticas Geopark contain abundant fossils, especially Mesozoic ammonites (a type of extinct marine mollusc). As a result, the park has become one of the most important research sites for ammonite fossils in the world. It is also an important area for studying the formation of the Betica Mountains. From the peak of ‘Picacho de Cabra’, the three major geological regions that make up Andalusia are visible: the Morena Mountains, the Guadalquivir Basin and the Betica Mountains. In addition, the geopark has a karst landscape with high educational and scientific value and is rich in biodiversity.
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(2020). Subbeticas Geopark, Spain. In: Chen, A., Ng, Y., Zhang, E., Tian, M. (eds) Dictionary of Geotourism. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2538-0_2370
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2538-0_2370
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