Geoheritage and Society

Geoheritage is a descriptive term applied to sites (geosites) or areas of geologic features with significant scientific, educational, cultural, or aesthetic value. As such, they are comparable to other forms of our natural heritage and can encompass issues as diversified as sustainability, geoparks, geoconservation, geotourism and scientific endeavour.

In South Africa (and internationally) there are multiple stakeholders in the Geoheritage space which could include secondary school teachers, university students, academics, professional field guides, tour operators and occasional tourists, general public, preservationists, government and various related quasi-government entities, in addition to geoscientists. It is not the aim of the GSSA Geoheritage Division to be all things to everyone or to unite all of these diversified organisations under a single banner. We recognise that there are a multitude of organisations that service these disparate stakeholders, each with their own emphasis, priorities and foci and the GSSA Geoheritage Division is just one of these. In fact, many of our members are also involved in one or more of these other organisations

The GSSA Geoheritage Division has, as its prime objective, to introduce its members and their families to the various aspects of Geoheritage. We want geoscientists to benefit from knowing what is going on in the greater world of Geoheritage, but we also want to be able to contribute, individually or as a professional organisation, to scientific and educational aspects where we can.

Geoheritage sites in South Africa

There are hundreds of Geoheritage sites of scientific, educational, cultural, economic and/or aesthetic significance in South Africa. Click on each of the images below for a non-exhaustive list of some of the better-known sites (these are all third-party sites and the GSSA assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of the information). This list will be updated periodically, so please check back with us from time to time.

Many more sites can be identified/accessed through the websites of the other organisations listed below. Please visit their sites for more information and contact details.