The Hațeg Country Dinosaurs Geopark has been established in 2004–05 in the general area of the prehistoric
Hațeg Island
Hațeg Island was a large offshore Former island, island in the Tethys Sea which existed during the Late Cretaceous period, probably from the Cenomanian to the Maastrichtian ages. It was situated in an area corresponding to the region around moder ...
, a large offshore
island
An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...
in the
Tethys Sea
The Tethys Ocean ( ; ), also called the Tethys Sea or the Neo-Tethys, was a prehistoric ocean during much of the Mesozoic Era and early-mid Cenozoic Era. It was the predecessor to the modern Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Eurasia ...
which existed during the late
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...
period, probably from the
Cenomanian
The Cenomanian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy's (ICS) geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age (geology), age of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or the lowest stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Upper Cretace ...
to the
Maastrichtian
The Maastrichtian ( ) is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age (uppermost stage (stratigraphy), stage) of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or Upper Cretaceous series (s ...
ages.
[Benton, M.J., Csiki, Z., Grigorescu, D., Redelstorff, R., Sander, P.M., Stein, K., and Weishampel, D.B. (2010).]
Dinosaurs and the island rule: The dwarfed dinosaurs from Hațeg Island.
" ''Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology'', 293(3-4): 438–454.
Description
The park is part of the
European Geoparks Network
The European Geoparks Network (EGN) functions as the regional organization of the Global Geoparks Network (GGN) and the UNESCO International Geosciences and Geoparks Programme (UNESCO-IGGP). Its main objective is to ensure cooperation between geop ...
and it aims to promote the local values, to ensure the restoration of the monuments, to identify and document the local traditions and to educate and inform the local communities on how to preserve the local
cultural identity
Cultural identity is a part of a person's identity (social science), identity, or their self-conception and self-perception, and is related to nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, generation, Locality (settlement), locality, gender, o ...
. The park was added to the Global Geopark Network when this was set up in 2005, and then became a
UNESCO Global Geopark
UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGp) are geoparks certified by the UNESCO Global Geoparks Council as meeting all the requirements for belonging to the Global Geoparks Network (GGN). The GGN is both a network of geoparks and the agency of the United Nati ...
in 2015.
The
Hațeg Country is a territory that hosts probably the richest cultural
patrimony
Patrimony may refer to:
Law
* Patrimony, or property, the total of all personal and real entitlements, including movable and immovable property, belonging to a real person or a juristic person
* Patrimony, or inheritance, a right or estate inher ...
of
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
. Here are found some of the oldest
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
es from north of
Danube
The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
, the largest concentration of medieval sites and
monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...
s in Romania and a big number of architectural monuments, all included in the National Patrimony.
The communities from the region are keepers of important local
tradition
A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...
s enriched with elements of the foreign cultures that have interacted with the region throughout its history.
See also
*
Hațeg Island
Hațeg Island was a large offshore Former island, island in the Tethys Sea which existed during the Late Cretaceous period, probably from the Cenomanian to the Maastrichtian ages. It was situated in an area corresponding to the region around moder ...
*
European Geoparks Network
The European Geoparks Network (EGN) functions as the regional organization of the Global Geoparks Network (GGN) and the UNESCO International Geosciences and Geoparks Programme (UNESCO-IGGP). Its main objective is to ensure cooperation between geop ...
References
External links
*
Hateg Country Dinosaurs Geopark – ROMANIAPark history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hateg Country Dinosaurs Geopark
Geography of Hunedoara County
Protected areas of Romania