Türkiye's famed Cappadocia region made the list of the United Nation's most important geological heritage sites with its dazzling natural wonders.
Both Cappadocia, with its volcanic “fairy chimney” putting it in the volcanology category and Pamukkale, with its graceful thermal spring formation as an example of geomorphology and active geological processes, made it into the "Top 100 Geological Heritage List" in the world as drawn up by the U.N.'s International Union of Geosciences (IUGS).
The listing of Cappadocia among the top 100 geological sites will boost its recognition across the globe, Ismail Dinçer of Nevşehir Haci Bektaş Veli University's Geological Engineering Department told Anadolu Agency (AA).
Saying that Turkish and foreign scientists have visited and studied Cappadocia for many years, Dincer said: "We can see all phases of the volcanism that took place from 12 million years ago to 4 million years ago in Cappadocia."
"This volcanic succession was subsequently eroded by environmental conditions, resulting in a unique set of surface shapes. Fairy chimneys are the most important of them," he added.
The U.N. geosciences list was chosen from 181 candidate sites proposed by geo-heritage experts in 13 countries, broken down into such categories as stratigraphy and sedimentology, paleontology, metamorphic petrology and volcanology.
Levent Ak, head of a local tourism services union, said: "There are many beautiful places in the world in terms of earth sciences. But a unique natural beauty has emerged in Cappadocia with fairy chimneys and valley formations."
"Including Cappadocia on the heritage list will also contribute to the prominence of our region in tourism and boost the diversity of tourism," he added.
Cappadocia, located in Central Anatolia's Nevsehir province, has been preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1985 and has attracted more than 3.6 million tourists so far this year.
Cappadocia is a popular destination worldwide thanks to its distinctive volcanic cones known as fairy chimneys, atmospheric underground cities, hot air balloon trips, houses carved into rocks and churches, as well as chapels and shelters used in the early years of the Christian faith.
