The Meteora has been included in the list of the world’s 100 most important Geological Monuments, according to the results of the assessment announced by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) at the 37th World Geological Congress held in Busan, South Korea. Note that by 2022, the 100 Geological Heritage Sites will include two more sites from Greece, the Fossilized Forest of Lesvos and the volcanic caldera of Santorini.

The geological significance of Meteora was presented at the proclamation ceremony by Professor Nikolaos Zouros, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of the Aegean and Director of the Natural History Museum of the Petrified Forest of Lesvos, who was also responsible for the submission of the relevant nomination dossier. It is recalled that Meteora has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site and last year the area of the Municipalities of Meteora and Pyli was recognized as a UNESCO World Geopark.

The evaluation process

The International Union of Geological Sciences, the leading global organization in the geosciences, in cooperation with UNESCO, took the initiative to formulate a list of the world’s top sites of geological interest.

In this context, the International Geological Heritage Commission (IUGS-IGC) of the International Union of Geological Sciences has been implementing an International Program in cooperation with UNESCO for the last 4 years to record, evaluate and highlight the most important Geological Heritage Sites. The first 100 sites were presented in October 2022.

It is particularly honourable for our country that among the 174 sites from 64 countries submitted to the International Commission on Geological Heritage and evaluated this year, Meteora is included in the 100 most important sites.

More than 400 geoscientists participated in the second phase of the evaluation, coming from 55 countries. The evaluation process took place in 2023-2024 and the list of the new 100 sites, announced at the World Geological Congress, includes geological monuments of outstanding value with international significance.

According to the Commission, an IUGS Geological Heritage Site is defined as a site that bears geological features and/or geological processes of international scientific significance, is used as a reference point and/or has made a significant contribution to the development of the geosciences over time.