National Geological Monuments are geographical areas of national importance and heritage, as notified by the Government of India's Geological Survey of India (GSI), for their maintenance, protection, promotion and enhancement of geotourism. [1] [2] [3]
There are 34 notified National Geological Heritage Monument Sites of India. GSI or the respective State governments are responsible for taking necessary measures to protect these sites. [2] [3]
There are 12 geo-tourism sites in Northeast India notified by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) for promotion of geo-tourism. [5] [6] [7]
| No. | Image | Geo-Heritage site | Location | District | State | Geotourism Category and reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Mawmluh Cave | Cherrapunji | East Khasi Hills district | Meghalaya | Geo-tourism: Cave belongs to Meghalayan Age, which is a major abrupt climatic event with critical drought and cooling 4,200 years ago which was determined from a stalagmite from Mawmluh cave. [8] In the geologic time scale, the Meghalayan is the latest age or uppermost stage of the Quaternary. [9] |
| 2 | Mawblei God’s Rock | East Khasi Hills district | Meghalaya | Geo-tourism: A megalith, Mahadek sandstone of Khasi group of cretaceous period, inclined at 45 degrees on a slope of a hill of Wahrashi River valley is a sacred site for Khasi people. [8] | ||
| 3 | Therriaghat | East Khasi Hills district | Meghalaya | Geo-tourism: Best-preserved and most complete Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary in India. Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous period caused sudden extinction of the large vertebrates, plankton and many tropical invertebrates. [8] | ||
| 4 |  | Majuli | Majuli island | Majuli district | Assam | Geo-tourism: World's largest river island in Brahmaputra river has sacred Hindu Vaishnavite sampradaya's satra (kshetra or monasteries) set up by in 15th-16th century Srimanta Sankaradeva. The eco-region is conserved by the Srimanta Sankaradeva Sangha. [8] |
| 5 | Umananda Island | Brahmaputra river | Guwahati | Assam | Geo-tourism: islet is an inselberg made of rocks of Assam-Meghalaya gneissic complex. [8] | |
| 6 |  | Chabimura | Gomati district | Tripura | Geo-tourism: 15th-16th century sacred Hindu site with rock carvings on a cliff of Gomti River with massive rock cut images of Shiva, Vishnu, Karthikeya, Durga and other Hindu deities highest of which is 20 ft. [8] | |
| 7 |  | Unakoti | Unakoti district | Tripura | Geo-tourism: 7th-9th centuries rock-cut sculptures and Shaiva temples. Unakotiswara Kal Bhairava shiva statue is 30 feet tall. [8] | |
| 8 |  | Sangestar Tso | Tawang district | Arunachal Pradesh | Geo-tourism: Also called as Madhuri Lake, created by damming of river due to earthquake in 1950, is nestled in a lush valley midst of snowy mountain peaks and freezes in winter. [8] | |
| 9 |  | Loktak Lake | Bishnupur district | Manipur | Geo-tourism: It is a phumdi (floating biomass) with phumsangs (tribal huts of fishermen) which is also the Keibul Lamjao National Park - world's only floating wildlife habitat on the southwestern part of lake. [8] | |
| 10 |  | Reiek Tlang | Aizawl | Mizoram | Geo-tourism: It is a cuesta (a hill with a gentle slope on one side and a steep slope on the other) created by erosion of the tertiary sand shale alterations. [8] | |
| 11 | Nagahill Ophiolite Site | Pungro | Kiphire district | Nagaland | Geo-tourism: [8] | |
| 12 |  | Mamley Stromatolite Park | Namchi | South Sikkim district | Sikkim | Geo-tourism: Also called "Buxa Formation of Mamley", is Algal mat#StromatolitesStromatolite Algal mat with circular structures in the limestone of Proterozoic Buxa Formation microbiota microfossils of Ranjit Window is rare examples of early life on Earth in the Sikkim Himalayas. [8] |
Hiriyuru is a city and a taluk headquarter located in Chitradurga district in the Indian state of Karnataka.
Namchi is a city and the administrative headquarter of the Namchi district in the Indian state of Sikkim. The appellation Namchi means Sky (Nam) High (Chi) in Sikkimese.
Nahar Singh Mahal is located at Ballabhgarh in Faridabad district of Haryana. This fort was built by the forefathers of Raja Nahar Singh around 1739 AD, and after whom Ballabgarh was named, the construction however continued in parts till about 1850. The fort is also known as Raja Nahar Singh Palace.
Rajmahal is a subdivisional town and a notified area in Rajmahal subdivision of the Sahebganj district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is situated at the banks of Ganges and was former capital of Bengal Subah under Mughal governor, Man Singh I.
Bundi is a town in the Hadoti region of Rajasthan state in northwest India. It is of particular architectural note for its ornate forts, palaces, and stepwell reservoirs known as baoris. It is the administrative headquarters of Bundi District. Bundi has many temples, so it is called "Chhoti Kashi".
The Naga Hills, reaching a height of around 3,825 metres (12,549 ft), lie on the border of India and Burma (Myanmar). They are part of a complex mountain system, and the parts of the mountain ranges inside the Indian state of Nagaland and the Burmese Naga Self-Administered Zone are called the Naga Hills. The highest point of the Naga hills is Mount Saramati.
Kishangarh is a city and a Municipal Council in Ajmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is served by Kishangarh Airport.
Obulavaripalle mandal is one of the 50 mandals in Annamayya district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is under the administration of Rajampeta revenue division, with its headquarters at Mangampet town. The mandal is bounded by Kodur, Chitvel and Pullampeta mandals. Construction of a new railway line Obulavaripalle–Krishnapatnam section connecting Obulavaripalle railway station to Krishnapatnam port is in progress.
Shivalik Fossil Park, also known as the Suketi Fossil Park, is a notified National Geo-heritage Monument fossil park in the Sirmaur district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It has a collection of prehistoric vertebrate fossils and skeletons recovered from the upper and middle Siwaliks geological formations of sandstones and clay at Suketi. The Siwalik ranges are located in the outer Himalayas. The park has a display of the fossil finds and an open-air exhibition of six life-sized fiberglass models of extinct mammals in a recreation of the Sivalik Hills environment of the Plio-Pleistocene era. A museum, within the precincts of the park curated and exhibits the fossils. Shivalik is Asia's biggest fossil park. The exhibits in the park are used to generate scientific interest among the public, and facilitate special international studies by visiting research scholars from all over the world.
The Rajmahal Hills are located in the Santhal Pargana division of Jharkhand, India. They were located on the northern margin of the Gondwana supercontinent, and its hills are today inhabited by the Sauria Paharia people whilst its valleys are dominated by the Santhal people. The hills span over an area of 2,600 km2 (1,000 sq mi).
The National Fossil Wood Park, Tiruvakkarai is a notified National Geo-heritage Monument located in the Villupuram District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and is maintained by the Geological Survey of India. The park was established in 1940 and is located 1 km east of Thiruvakkarai village on the road between Tindivanam and Pondicherry.
Natural Arch, Tirumala hills, a notified National Geo-heritage Monument, is a distinctive geological feature 1 km (0.6 mi) north of the Tirumala hills temple, near the Chakra Teertham in Tirupati district in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. The arch is also called Silathoranam (శిలాతోరణం) in the local language. The arch measures 8 m (26.2 ft) in width and 3 m (9.8 ft) in height, and is naturally formed in the quartzites of Cuddapah Supergroup of Middle to Upper Proterozoic due to natural erosive forces.
Ramgarh crater, also known as Ramgarh structure, Ramgarh Dome and Ramgarh astrobleme, is a meteor impact crater of 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) diameter in Kota plateau of Vindhya Range located adjacent to Ramgarh village in Mangrol tehsil of Baran district in Rajasthan state of India. When formally accepted as the third crater in India, its diameter size would be between the two already confirmed craters in India - Dhala in Madhya Pradesh with 14 km diameter and Lonar in Buldhana district of Maharashtra with 1.8 km diameter.
Tirupati Eparchaean Unconformity, a notified National Geo-heritage Monument is a major discontinuity of stratigraphic significance that represents a period of remarkable serenity in the geological history of the Earth i.e. sudden changes and discontinuity in the rock layers in Earth's crust. It is seen at the steep natural slopes, road scars and ravines in the Tirupati – Tirumala Ghat road in Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh, India.
Angadippuram Laterite is a notified National Geo-heritage Monument in Angadippuram town in Malappuram district in the southern Indian state of Kerala, India. The special significance of Angadippuram to laterites is that it was here that Dr. Francis Buchanan-Hamilton, a professional surgeon, gave the first account of this rock type, in his report of 1807, as "indurated clay", ideally suited for building construction. This formation falls outside the general classification of rocks namely, the igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary rocks but is an exclusively "sedimentary residual product". It has generally a pitted and porous appearance. The name laterite was first coined in India, by Buchanan and its etymology is traced to the Latin word "letritis" that means bricks. This exceptional formation is found above parent rock types of various composition namely, charnockite, leptynite, anorthosite and gabbro in Kerala. It is found over basalt in the states of Goa, Maharashtra and in some regions of Karnataka. In Gujarat in western India, impressive formations of laterite are found over granite, shale and sandstone..
This article contains lists of Monuments of National Importance in India.
National Fossil Wood Park, Sathanur is a National Geo-heritage Monument of India located at Sathanur in Perambalur district, Tamil Nadu. This park is located within Sathanur panchayat and has a fossilized tree trunk, which was discovered in 1940 by the geologist M. S. Krishnan of the Geological Survey of India, who hailed from Tanjore.
Kadana Dam is an earthen and masonry on the Mahi River in Mahisagar district of Gujarat, India. The dam was constructed between 1979 and 1990. The dams a pumped-storage hydroelectric power-station. The first two generators were commissioned in 1990, the second two in 1998. The first two generators commissioned, Stage I, are reversible kaplan turbines that allow the power station to generate during peak hours then pump back into the reservoir during low hours such as night.
Haryana State Directorate of Archaeology & Museums is a ministry and department of the Government of Haryana in India.
Erra Matti Dibbalu, also called as Red Sand Hills, a notified National Geo-heritage Monument, is situated at the outskirts of Visakhapatnam City. It is located very near to the Bay of Bengal and is one of Visakhapatnam's many heritage sites.
