Geoturism in a volcanic sites: El Hierro UNESCO Global geopark (Canary Islands, Spain)   

<p>El Hierro Island is the westernmost and the smallest of the Canary Islands. It is the youngest volcanic island in the archipelago and has a rich and diverse heritage related to volcanic forms and processes, in which geomorphology is the main value, receiving in 2014 the designation of Global Geopark by UNESCO. El Hierro receives every year thousands of tourists mainly motivated by diving and trekking. For this reason, the aim of this work is the inventory, selection and quantitative evaluation of well preserved and accessible volcanic geomorphosites with a geoturistic interest, in order to promote the geotourism and to diversify the leisure offer on the island. In this work we applied the geomorphosites assessment methodology elaborated by Serrano and Gonz&#225;lez (2014). This methodology involves a three-way comparison of the different values of the geomorphosites: the scientific or intrinsic values, cultural values and use and management values. The values of geomorphological heritage are expressed from 1 to 5. The results reveal the existence of twenty geomorphosites with potential use for geoturism. These sites include cinder cones, lava fields, lava deltas, faults, giant landslides, valleys, cliffs and beaches. The geomorphosites with highest geomorphological heritage are El Golfo and El Julan giant landslides and those with the lowest are Hoya Fileba and Tanganasoga volcanoes. In general, the twenty selected sites show average values between 1.6 to 2.0. Valuable information provided by this study and knowledge of these twenty geomorphosites are important for promotion of tourism activities in the Geopark. The selection of these geomorphosites can contribute geotourism as an important leisure activity in the island and can assist planners and authorities to formulate suitable plans for sustained development of the El Hierro UNESCO Global Geopark by the creation of geo-routes. (Volturmac-MAC2/4.6c/298).</p>