PHU YEN GEOPARK
Phu yen Geopark was established on August 30, 2024 according to Decision No. 1184/QD-UBND of the People’s Committee of Phu Yen province. Phu Yen Geopark is located within the administrative scope of the following districts (Tuy Hoa city, Song Cau town, Dong Hoa town, Tuy An district, part of districts: Phu Hoa, Tay Hoa and Son Hoa)
Acreage
Identified to be located in 07 districts, towns and cities of the province (Tuy Hoa city, Song Cau town, Dong Hoa town, Tuy An district, part of districts: Phu Hoa, Tay Hoa and Son Hoa) with a total land area of about 1,927 km2 and an inland water surface area of about 1,000 km2 (from the shore to a depth of about 50m, including coastal islands).
Population
Phu Yen land has been inhabited by prehistoric people for a long time (at least since Hoa Binh Culture, 16,000 years BP). The province currently has 33 ethnic groups living together (Kinh, Cham, Ede, Ba Na, Hre, Hoa, Raglai...)
Biodiversity
The area where the Geopark was established has a diverse ecosystem, so it also has a diversity of terrestrial and aquatic flora and fauna. The coefficient of endemic terrestrial plants has a fairly high rate of 2.71%, meaning that for every 100 plant species, there are nearly 03 endemic plant species. There are 178 coral species with an area of 300 hectares, of which 127 species (accounting for 71.35%) are rare and valuable and need to be preserved at different endangered levels listed in the IUCN Red List 2021.
Features and values of geological heritage
The diversity of geological structure, lithology, topography, and geomorphology has created many attractive landscapes for Phu Yen area. This is the convergence of tectonic zones, with a history of development from Precambrian to the present. Along with the participation of most geological processes such as magma (intrusion, eruption), metamorphism; sediment (rivers, lakes, seas, wind); tectonic activities such as compression, extension with fault systems, cracks in many different directions combined with the carving of exogenous processes (weathering, erosion, abrasion, transport of materials from rivers, streams, seas, wind, …) to reveal the diversity of the formations that create the uniqueness of the landscape and terrain of the area. At the same time, this area also has many historical relics, archaeological relics and famous architectural and artistic relics that attract tourists.
The area planned to establish a UNESCO Global Geopark in Phu Yen has shown that there are 105 geological heritages of 9 types: paleontological heritage, geomorphological heritage, paleoenvironmental heritage, stone heritage, stratigraphic heritage, mineral heritage (minerals), geological economic heritage, tectonic and historical geological heritage, continental-ocean interaction heritage. Among them, there are many geological heritages that are very meaningful in terms of science, education, aesthetics and economy, reaching international and national levels.
