Protection and Management of Karst, Education – oral
2013 ICS Proceedings
PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH GEOTURISTIC TRAILS AT THE MONUMENTO NATURAL ESTADUAL GRUTA REI DO MATO, MINAS GERAIS, BRAZIL Felipe de Ávila Chaves Borges1, Luiz Eduardo Panisset Travassos2, Fernando Alves Guimarães3 Geographer, Masters Degree student at PUC Minas, Graduate Program in Geography, PUC Minas, Av. Dom José Gaspar n. 500, Coração Eucarístico, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil, 30535-610. Environment technician at Brandt Meio Ambiente,
[email protected] 2 Doctor in Karstology, Researcher and Professor in the Graduate Program in Geography, PUC Minas, Av. Dom José Gaspar n. 500, Coração Eucarístico, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil, 30535-610,
[email protected] 3 Geographer, undergraduate of PUC Minas University, Belo Horizonte, Brazil,
[email protected] 1
In recent decades humanity has experienced various changes in its relations with the environment. Since the 70s, several environmental movements have emerged around the world, highlighting the importance of preserving natural resources. In this context, more recently, the terms “geodiversity,” “geoconservation” and “geotourism” have been adopted to help conserve the geological heritage of our planet. Thus, the creation of Conservation Units, such as parks and natural monuments such as the Monumento Natural Estadual Gruta Rei do Mato (Natural State Monument Rei do Mato Cave) have emerged as an attempt to preserve an important karst area. Its regional context appears as a landscape with caves and limestone outcrops that host traces of South American prehistoric man. This paper aims to propose the creation of geological and educational trails in this monument, in order to help increase karstological knowledge. Field missions have been carried out, and four geosites identified and proposed, each with its specific points of geomorphological interest. Such points of interest have been linked in each geosite to form trails of different difficulty degrees for access and natural heritage interpretation. Finally, the idea is the proposal of a type of “field school” to help teachers and students better understand karst and cave dynamics.
Located in the northern portion of the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, capital city of the State of Minas Gerais, the MNGRM remains susceptible to uncontrolled human activities that can be detrimental for the natural environment. The present mining activities in the vicinity of the highway BR-040 and the urban occupation of Sete Lagoas city can endanger the preservation of the Natural Monument.
1. Introduction Throughout the second half of the 20th century and the first decade of this century, concern about environmental issues has been raised, with natural resources being more valued. Several movements promoted by civil society, members of universities and political authorities throughout the world have, thus, encouraged and fought for environmental preservation, sometimes at the expense of economic development and sometimes combined with the idea of sustainable development.
It is believed that the work would help planners better use the area by promoting environmental awareness among the people visiting the site. Such awareness should not only make visitors care about the Monument, but also about other similar karst areas. In addition, visitors will be able to spread ideas and strengthen the case for conservation by causing authorities to increase supervision and enforce environmental legislation.
In the fields of geography and geology, studies about environmental issues have recently proposed the terms geodiversity, geotourism and geoconservation (see Brilha 2005; Gray 2004; Hose 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000; Sharples 1993, 1995, 2002). These terms have been “created” to demonstrate the importance of various physical aspects of the environment, the need to preserve them, and also, the desire to spread information about their importance.
2. Study Area The Natural State Monument Rei do Mato Cave is located in Sete Lagoas, Minas Gerais (Fig. 1). Bordered by two main roads, the conservation unit is about 60 km from the state capital, Belo Horizonte.
In this context, this study aims to propose geological and educational trails with the use of interpretive resources for different target audiences at one Brazilian Conservation Unit (UC) called Monumento Natural Estadual Gruta Rei do Mato (MNGRM) or, in English, the Natural State Monument of Rei do Mato Cave. Such trails would provide what are referred to in this work as a “field school” that will help teachers and students better understand karst and cave dynamics.
The region’s climate is tropical semi-humid with rainy summers and dry winters. Average high temperatures of 29.2 °C can be registered with the minimum annual average being 22.1 °C. The annual rainfall ranges from 1,200 to 1,500 mm (CPRM 2010).
Consequently, it has been necessary to undertake research, to identify geosites and places of geomorphological interest, in order to identify areas likely to become trails which could link different sites and also enhance the knowledge of tourists or students on geological, geomorphological, archaeological and cultural aspects of each identified place.
The hydrographic network of the region is part of the São Francisco river and Paraopeba river sub-basins. Being located over limestone rocks, the site presents sinks and underground systems which support groundwater storage and movement. 209
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The city of Sete Lagoas, as well as the Natural State Monument, is located in the geological macrostructure called São Francisco craton, a geotectonic province corresponding to the western part of the Congo/São Francisco craton, which occupies the center of Western Gondwana and was originally split into two by the opening of the South Atlantic (Almeida 1977). One can find carbonate rocks of the Bambuí Group, Sete Lagoas Formation, there. Also lateritic and alluvial deposits can be seen (CPRM 2010).
The predominant vegetation in the area is “dry forest,” otherwise known as Deciduous Seasonal Forests, associated with large areas covered by carbonate rocks. The Cerrado vegetation or “Brazilian Savannah” can also be found in the northern part of the Monument in the areas covered by the Serra de Santa Helena Formation. The touristic structure of the State Monument is composed of an auditorium with capacity for 120 persons, exhibition areas, a small cafeteria, office and administrative area, restrooms, locker rooms and an exclusive parking area for approximately 200 vehicles. The Rei do Mato cave, the main attraction, is a show cave currently lighted by LED technology.
The Monument is near the convergence of two geological units of the Bambui Group: the Serra de Santa Helena Formation (northern portion) and the Sete Lagoas Formation (the southern portion). The first is marked by the presence of mudstones and siltstones. The second has limestone rocks, medium gray to dark gray in color and rich in organic matter (CPRM 2010). The terrain is characterized by typical karst features with ponors, sinks, dolines, blind valleys, karren and caves.
The area of the monument is noted as an important archaeological and paleontological site on the register of rock paintings and ceramic artifacts. Prehistoric burial can also be located in the vicinity (MINAS 1984 apud Soares 2007).
Figure 1. Location map of Minas Gerais, Sete Lagoas, and the Natural State Monument of Gruta Rei do Mato.
also reviewed papers regarding different techniques to be used in making pedagogical and/or geological trails and how to promote the physiographic characteristics of the study area.
3. Methods The methodological procedures adopted to achieve the proposed objectives can be best understood by splitting them into three stages: the first refers to the period prior to the completion of field missions; the second refers to field missions; and the third corresponds to the post-field missions.
Satellite images were used and provided by Google Earth (free version). A mosaic of 1:5,000 images was made, in order to better orientate the field missions.
3.1. Pre-field Missions 3.2. Field Missions
During this step the authors conducted a bibliographical review to better explore the concepts and principles of geodiversity, geotourism and geoconservation. The authors
The authors considered the field missions as the most important and crucial stage of the research. Four field missions took place, and the researchers used GPS (Garmin 210
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eTrex Vista HCx), the mosaic of GoogleEarth images of the study area (scale of 1:5,000), digital cameras, helmets, lights and field notebooks.
Table 1. Geosites, Trails and Points of Geomorphological Interest. Source: Research data. GEOSITE
The first mission was exploratory and intended to identify main places of geomorphological interest, and also points of archaeological, cultural and historical significance. These points were registered, photographed and marked in the GPS. The routes tracked by the GPS were also saved. The other field missions aimed to identify other possible routes for the trails and were also saved for future analysis. The expected time for each probable trail was also recorded.
Rei do Mato Cave/Gruta do Rei do Mato
Limestone Towers/Clover cave/Torres Calcárias e Gruta do Trevo
3.3. Post-field Missions In this step, the first action was to organize a database with the information collected in the field including the name, geographic location, elevation, description, time spent and photographic records of each trail and point identified.
Stonebreaker Massif/Maciço do Britador
The identified paths and the points stored in GPS were introduced in the software in TrackMaker 7.13, which allowed the conversion from *.gtm extension to *.shp to be used in ArcGIS 10 licensed for academic use at PUC Minas University.
POINTS OF GEOMORPHOLOGICAL INTEREST Grutinha – small cave Gruta Rei do Gruta Rei do Mato – Rei do Mato Trail Mato cave Torre Cárstica I – Karst tower I Torre Cárstica II – Karst Gruta do Trevo tower II Trail Torre Cárstica III – Karst tower III Gruta do Trevo – Clover Cave Maciço explorado por mineração – massif exploited by mining activity TRAIL NAME
Stonebreaker Trail/Climbing Trail Climbing Massif/Maciço das Escaladas
After calculating the length of each trail, maps were produced. According to the time spent, length, and difficulty of each trail, the authors decided to differentiate the level of access and complexity of the interpretative resources to be developed.
Dolinas de Abatimento – Collapse dolines Processo de dissolução do calcário – Solution process of limestone Sumidouro, área de recarga do Carste – Ponors Expressões Culturais: Bob Marley e Nossa Senhora – Cultural expressions: Bob Marley and Our Lady Abrigo da Macumba – Macumba shelter
To elaborate the interpretative resources of the identified sites, various proposals were made to be printed as signs (2 m × 1.2 m). In these prototypes various types of information regarding coordinates, location map with satellite image, altitude, geological and geomorphological information are recorded. Due to their size and numbers, these have not been included here, although one example is shown in Fig. 2.
Figure 2. Example of one of the panels explaining the process of doline formation. Source: Research data.
4. Results and Discussions Based on the conducted field missions, the authors have proposed different trails with different places of geomorphological interest (Table 1). Geosites have been
Figure 3. Proposed trails and points of geomorphological interest. Source: Research data. 211
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proposed for all four trails (Fig. 3). Three trails of different difficulty levels of access and educational interpretation have been identified (Rei do Mato Cave, Limestone Towers/Clover cave, Stonebreaker Massif and, Climbing Massif). Twelve places of geomorphological interest have been selected and seven interpretation panels were developed as prototypes.
The trail is paved with stones and, according to data obtained by GPS, has an approximate length of 291 meters. The cave can be reached leaving the tourist installations of the Natural Monument, passing by the Grutinha (small cave) after 248 m, at which point the panel relevant to this trail should be installed. The altitude along the path varies from 858 to 885 meters and the average time spent by the tourists is 50 minutes, including a visit to the Rei do Mato cave. The return is made by taking the same path.
4.1. Gruta Rei do Mato Trail The Rei do Mato cave trail is the only one that already exists and is in regular operation. However, the route of this trail is lacking any interpretative resource, which has caused
Due to its short length, structure and the fact that it has the largest and most famous geomorphological landmark, the trail is most often visited by people with no knowledge of Earth Sciences. For this reason, the authors have decided to develop an interpretative resource that does not require specific knowledge of karst geomorphology or geology. This trail can be used by any kind of audience, including elementary school students. Moreover, the access conditions favor its classification as “easy level.”
4.2. Gruta do Trevo Trail This trail is the second proposed by the authors. It leaves the tourist center and has its end in the Clover Cave (Gruta do Trevo), near the highway BR-040. Besides the existing clearings along its route, there is no formal touristic structure. On the trail, normally used in educational or promotional events of the Natural Monument, are four places of geomorphological interest: Torre Cárstica I – Karst tower I, Gruta do Trevo – Clover Cave (with some rock paintings – Fig. 6), and two other limestone towers in the back of the Clover Cave called Torre Cárstica II – Karst tower II and Torre Cárstica III – Karst tower III.
Figure 4. Entrance of Gruta Rei do Mato – the small poles at the entrance measure approximately 1m and can be used as scale reference. (Photo: Felipe Borges.)
Figure 6. Rock Art: representation of a deer in Gruta do Trevo. (Photo: Felipe Borges.)
The proposed trail is 777 meters in length from the parking area to the Clover Cave and the second and third karst towers. The first karst tower is located about 520 meters away from the parking area and the altitude of the trail varies from 848 to 865 meters. The average time spent is
Figure 5. “Twin columns” at the end of the tourist path of Gruta Rei do Mato. (Photo: Luiz Eduardo Panisset Travassos.) 212
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one hour and a half. As with the first trail, the return takes the same route back.
meters from the “Collapse dolines” to its end. The altitude varies from 800 to 835 meters and the average time to complete its path is approximately two and a half hours. The distance between each place of geomorphological interest relative to the starting point of this trail is outlined in Table 2. Much of the trail occurs in areas very close to the massif and is covered with dense vegetation.
Due to the longer length of the trail, the absence of touristic structures and a certain degree of knowledge and abstraction for the interpretation of how karst towers are formed, this trail has been classified as intermediate-level. Those exploring this trail should possess some prior knowledge of Earth Sciences (high school students and others interested in the subject). Two features panels have been developed, one to be located near the first karst tower and the second near the Gruta do Trevo (Clover Cave).
Table 2. Distance between each place of geomorphological interest relative to the starting point of this trail. Source: Research data. POINTS OF GEOMORPHOLOGICAL INTEREST
4.3. Stonebreaker Trail / Climbing Trail The third trail is considered the longest and most complex. The hike can be started from the tourist center, but it is recommended it start in another location, outside the limits of the Natural Monument. The trail can be divided into two sections. One starts in an old disabled limestone quarry (locally known as “stonebreaker” or “britador”) near the State Highway MG238. The second section, which can also be considered another trail, is linked to the first one as a single route, due to complex geological, geomorphological and structural features. When starting the Stonebreaker Trail/Climbing Trail, it is recommended to follow two directions. The first, towards the west, takes the group to two places of geomorphological interest: the Maciço explorado por mineração (massif exploited by mining activity) and the Dolinas de Abatimento (Collapse dolines) (Fig. 7), located in the geosite Stonebreaker Massif/Maciço do Britador.
DISTANCE FROM THE TRAIL STARTING POINT (METERS)
Maciço explorado por mineração – massif exploited by mining activity
173
Dolinas de Abatimento – Collapse dolines
390
Processo de dissolução do calcário – limestone solution process
1,012
Sumidouro, área de recarga do Carste – Ponors of karst
1,037
Expressões Culturais: Bob Marley e Nossa Senhora – cultural expressions: Bob Marley and Our Lady
1,019
Abrigo da Macumba – Macumba shelter
1,422
To better inform visitors about the complex phenomena of the area, four interpretative panels have been created. The first one refers to the “Maciço explorado por mineração – massif exploited by mining activity” and should be installed in front of this outcrop. It contains information about the formation of karst massifs, mining activity and its impacts on karst. The second panel refers to the point called “Dolinas de Abatimento – Collapse dolines”, and should be installed in front of the dolines. For the places of geomorphological interest called “Processo de dissolução do calcário – Limestone solution process” and “Sumidouro, área de recarga do Carste – Ponors of karst” one panel has been made taking into account the physical constraints found in the area. A similar factor occurs with the places of geomorphological interest called “Expressões Culturais: Bob Marley e Nossa Senhora – Cultural expressions: Bob Marley and Our Lady” and “Abrigo da Macumba – Macumba shelter”. Due to space limitations and the possibility of damaging some places, it was decided to make a single panel for the two to be installed in the area in front of “Abrigo da Macumba – Macumba shelter”. Another factor that encouraged the authors to merge these two places into a single panel was their cultural aspect: sacredness.
Figure 7. Collapse boulders inside the collapse doline. It is believed that the collapses occurred due to quarrying activities. (Photo: Lucas Zenha.)
After studying this geosite, the group should return to the beginning and move towards the east, starting the trails at the Climbing Massif/Maciço das Escaladas geosite. This path contains four places of geomorphological interest: 1) Processo de dissolução do calcário – solution process of limestone, 2) Sumidouro, área de recarga do Carste – Ponors of karst, 3) Expressões Culturais: Bob Marley e Nossa Senhora – cultural expressions: Bob Marley and Our Lady; and 4) Abrigo da Macumba – Macumba shelter.
Although the interpretative resources help the tourist and/or students understand the importance of each place, given the level of knowledge required on this trail, it would be necessary to have an expert on karst to guide the group.
The Stonebreaker Trail/Climbing Trail extends 1,969 213
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Considering the length, difficult access, high level of knowledge needed to understand the karst phenomena developed in such places of geomorphological interest, this trail has been classified as “high difficulty”. Earth Science knowledge is needed to better understand the site. It is recommended for undergraduate and graduate students of disciplines related to Environmental Sciences and Earth Sciences, such as geography, geology, biology.
Acknowledgments
5. Conclusions
Brilha J, 2005. Património Geológico e Geoconservação: A Conservação da Natureza na sua Vertente Geológica. Palimage Editores, Viseu (in Portuguese).
The authors would like to thank Margaret Keeney who kindly improved the English of this work.
References Almeida FFM, 1977. O Cráton do São Francisco. Revista Brasileira de Geociências, 7, 349–364 (in Portuguese).
This study has aimed to propose a “field school” activity in Natural State Monument Gruta Rei do Mato to help disseminate the knowledge of Earth Sciences, in general, and karst geomorphology, in particular.
CPRM – Serviço Geológico do Brasil, 2010. Projeto Sete LagoasAbaeté, Belo Horizonte, Brazil (in Portuguese). Gray M, 2004. Geodiversity: Valuing and Conserving Abiotic Nature. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester, England.
The authors have also tried to highlight some geological and geomorphological attributes of the Natural Monument, in order to help with the conservation of its geological heritage.
Hose TA, 1995. Selling the Story of Britain`s Stone, Environmental Interpretation, 10 (2), 16–17. Hose TA, 1996. Geotourism, or Can Tourists Become Casual Rockhounds? In: MR Bennett, P Doyle, JG Larwood and CD Prosser (eds). Geology on your Doorstep: the Role of Urban Geology in Earth Heritage Conservation. London, Geological Society, 207–228.
Four geosites, which are the main objects of three educational trails, have been proposed. For each trail the authors have identified places of geomorphological interest totaling twelve points.
Hose TA, 1997. Geotourism – Selling the earth to Europe. In, K Marinos and T Stournaras (Eds), Engineering geology end the Environment. Balkema, Rotterdam.
The tracks have been characterized in terms of their location, extent and average time spent. The level of knowledge required for the interpretation of each place of geomorphological interest has also been identified.
Hose TA, 2000. European “Geotourism” – geological interpretation and geoconservation promotion for tourists. In: D Barettino, WAP Wimbledon, E Gallego (Eds.). Geological Heritage: its conservation and management. Madrid, Spain, 127–146.
For the interpretation of these places, the authors have proposed information panels containing the main features of local interest regarding the geological, geomorphological, speleological, archaeological and cultural aspects of the region.
Soares CES, 2007. A Área de Proteção Especial Estadual da Gruta Rei do Mato e os Aspectos Inerentes a Utilização Turística dos Recursos Naturais e Culturais. Final Proc. XXIX Congresso Brasileiro de Espeleologia, Ouro Preto, Brazil, 281–288 (in Portuguese).
It is the authors’ desire to implement this project in conjunction with the staff of the Natural Monument, in order to disseminate knowledge of karst using the principles of geodiversity, geotourism and geoconservation.
Sharples CA, 1993. Methodology for the Identification of Significant Landforms and Geological Sites for Geoconservation Purposes. Report to the Forestry Commission, Tasmania.
Organizing such actions could be also a way to enhance the social and economic development of the region through well-planned geotourism.
Sharples C, 1995. Geoconservation in Forest ManagementPrinciples and Procedures, Tasforests, 7, 37–50.
The tools and techniques of primary data acquisition and GIS have proven quite useful for making the tourist trails and educational proposals.
Sharples C, 2002. Concepts and Principles of Geoconservation, Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service Web, http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/Attachments/SJON57W3YM/$FILE/geoconservation.pdf
It is important to mention that a second phase of this study must be carried out in order to study the possible environmental impacts of the proposed trails. Since this is a preliminary work of an issue still under development in Brazilian karst areas, the identification of carrying capacity of each trail has not yet been made.
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