Geopark Vis Archipelago – a new proud member of UNESCO Global Geoparks Network


The Vis Archipelago is now listed on a prestigious list of geo-parks of global importance.

The area of the Vis Archipelago encompasses the island of Vis and the surrounding islands of Biševo, Sveti Andrija, Brusnik, Jabuka, and Palagruža.

As far as geology, this is the most attractive area of the Adriatic, formed from the oldest and the youngest formations of rock. Parts of the Vis archipelago are built from volcanic rock. Such rocks are unique in the Adriatic area and are easily distinguished from other Adriatic islands which are predominantly sedimentary rocks.

Blue cave

Within Archipelago, in the geological past, 220 million years ago, major changes occurred through the propagation of the slides, the mass of burning deep water, which broke through the surface by raising sediment panels formed by petrifying sand and shelling organisms.
The summits of this magmatic penetration are today the islands of Jabuka, Brusnik, Biševo, and Palagruža as the geologically oldest island of the Adriatic, which, as well as the island of Brusnik, is constantly growing under the influence of tectonic activity.

The Archipelago is the area of the highest concentration of natural monuments in Europe: Monk Seal Cave, Blue Cave, volcanic islands  Jabuka and Brusnik, Stiniva Bay, Green Cave on the island of Ravnik.

Papuk Geopark, located in eastern Croatia, was the first UNESCO Geopark in Croatia which gained its status due to the extraordinary geological and biological diversity and valuable cultural heritage.

Stiniva Bay

ABOUT AUTHOR

Andreja Pruša Horvatić

"There are countless beautiful stories proving that what I’ve been doing for the past eight years, with varying levels of enthusiasm is truly meaningful."

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