Geoparque de Granada

Granada UNESCO Global Geopark


The Geoparque de Granada (Granada Geopark) is located in the sparsely populated north of the province of Granada. This area is notable for Quaternary sediments and palaeontological sites. But the unique feature is actually an extensive river system that had no outlet to the sea and drained its waters into a large lake. Such a river is called endorheic (interior drainage) and it produced one of the best records of sediments from the continental Quaternary in Europe. The underground sites here are mostly artificial, in the area around Guadix cave houses were common for centuries. The flanks of the mountains were used to carve caverns horizontally into the rock, which were then closed by a wall.