Geoheritage inventory in southwest Goiás, Brazil: a first step to disseminate geodiversity and its association with culture

Geoheritage is the part of geodiversity constituted by the natural abiotic elements that must be conserved due to its heritage value. In this work, the first results on the study of the geodiversity and the geoheritage of the southwest Goiás micro-region, in Brazil, are presented. This region is composed by 18 municipalities characterized by the agricultural and cattle-raising activities that stand out in the Brazilian Centre-West. Plateaus dominate the landscape, corresponding to the northern limits of the Paraná Sedimentary Basin in the state of Goiás, covering one of the marginal sections of this Palaeozoic and Mesozoic age basin. Two geomorphological sub-units are differentiated by altimetric unevenness and erosive processes that originated different types of dissection: Rio Verde Plateau and Caiapônia Plateau, separated by an alignment of ridges, called Serra do Caiapó. Public incentives and investments and the low price of land caused a wave of migration of rural landowners and producers from the South and Southeast regions to the Southwest of Goiás. The plateaus with low slope and soil corrections contributed to the mechanization of the field which were crucial to its agricultural occupation. The scenario of high productivity remains until today, indicating the great intensity of the dynamics of land use and occupation. In order to disseminate geodiversity and geoheritage concepts and to promote initial stages of a geoconservation and geotourism strategy, an inventory was carried out. Through documental research and field work, an assessment was made, comprising the identification of different sites typologies, use values, degradation risk and relevance of potential geosites. 42 potential geosites classified by their geomorphological (16), hydrogeological (15), paleontological (3), lithological (2), pedological (2), paleoenvironmental (2), mining (1) and tectonic-structural (1) interest have been inventoried. The area includes a portion of the Araguainha Astroblema, a geosite of international relevance and the Emas National Park, since 2001 a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Archaeological sites identified in the municipalities of Caiapônia and Serranópolis were also considered, due to the strong association of cultural value with local geodiversity. The area has great potential for geoheritage dissemination, with different types of interest and use values. Geodiversity supported the development of human activities since thousands of years ago, evidenced in the rocks through paintings and rock carvings or in recent activities such as agriculture. It is intended that these data may serve as a contribution to geoconservation and geotourism strategies based on the geoheritage value and its strong relationship with cultural elements.