ARARIPE GEOPARK

ARARIPE GEOPARK is located in Araripe Basin, in the South of the State of Ceará, represents Cretaceous Period of the Earth. The area is special for the geological and paleontological discoveries unpublished since the first years of the Century XIX, with registrations among 110 and 70 million of years, in exceptional preservation state and diversity.

The proposal intends preservation of the main places, transformed in visitation places and research composing a net of 9 parks or Geotopes, with documental registrations considered indispensable to the understanding of the origin, evolution and current structure of the Earth and of the life in the planet. .Located in the municipal districts of Santana of Cariri, New Olinda, Crato, Juazeiro do Norte, Barbalha and Missão Velha. All of the places are representative of geological and stratigraphical places and it fossils formations .

The origin of the proposition was an APPLICATION DOSSIER FOR NOMINATION ARARIPE GEOPARK, STATE OF CEARÁ, BRAZIL, result of Cooperation Agreement between Universität Hamburg, URCA / Regional State University of Cariri and DAAD, under the coordination of the Prof. Gero Hillmer, Curator of the Institute and Museum of Paleontology of Universität Hamburg and others professors of URCA and UFC/ Federal University of State of Ceará.

The document contained a wide scientific documentation on Araripe, territorial analysis of more than 60 relevant situations and information on the potential of maintainable development of the area under the aspects of the Education, Culture, Tourism, Preservation of the Environment and Social and Economical Development, what took its approval in 2nd UNESCO Conference on Geoparks, in Belfast, Ireland, in September/ 2006.

This approval in 2nd UNESCO Conference on Geoparks means that GEOPARK ARARIPE is part of this international program, being consequently the only geoparque in the whole Southern Hemisphere and in America. This condition stays until the present date.Between July and September / 2007, the proposition was a presentation to the new Government of the State of Ceará, and general offices of the Science and Technology, Culture and Cities. And the Governor of the State of Ceará decided to transform it in a Program of Government of the State of Ceará, included in the new Programs Cities of Ceará, also approved by IRDB / World Bank that commits to allocate international resources for consolidation.

In July / 2007, the proposition is honored with Rodrigo Mello Franco of Andrade Prize for IPHAN and Ministry of the Culture. as the best conception of protection geological and paleontological sites, in the year of 2006, in Brazil. In October/ 2007, the prize was reward in National Theater Claudio Santoro, in Brasilia, by the Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil.

Photographic image of Geotope Missão Velha. Ibi Tupi Bank of Images. Photographic image of Daniel Roman. Reserved copyrights.