Scientific, Educational and Geotourism Value of the Ballota Beach that Recorded the Old and Most Recent Geological Histories of the North-Northwest Part of the Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

One of the enclaves that exhibits the best features to understand the old and most recent geological history of the north-northwest portion of the Iberian Peninsula is the Ballota Beach, located in Asturias, Spain. In the cliff above sea level that borders this beach to the south, a succession of Carboniferous “griotte” limestones crops out, deformed by spectacular ramp and detachment folds, as well as thrusts, backthrusts and duplexes. These structures are testimonies of the shortening produced in the cordillera originated during the Variscan orogeny of Devonian-Permian age, which extended throughout central Europe, northern Africa and eastern North America. Additionally, from a viewpoint located on the cliff, one can recognize a flat surface over the carbonate coastal cliffs and higher flat surfaces developed on quartzites. These flat surfaces, known as “rasas”, are marine abrasion surfaces elevated above current sea level resulting from Cenozoic-Quaternary land uplift and/or sea level fall. This region, already mentioned in the XIX century, has an extraordinary scientific and educational value, from the Structural Geology, Geomorphology, Historical Geology and Stratigraphy points of view, and is a great geotourism attraction due to its beauty. To make this region known, we propose to declare this area a geological interest site in the Global Geosites Spain project, make this article open access, upload a virtual outcrop model we have built in open-access online repositories, make information available to public entities that promote outreach and tourism, propose the realization of a “Geolodía” (Geology day), and make a video to celebrate the Geodiversity International Day.