Abstract - A geoantiquity is a natural record of Earth history that documents environmental change. Geoantiquities are typically expressed as classic geomorphic landscapes shaped by surficial processes such as moving wind and water, erosion, and deposition. The geoantiquity concept is patterned after the model of cultural antiquities and involves developing and implementing strategies to identify, evaluate, and conserve threatened geologic landscape features. The case study is an area of rapid urban growth along Utah’s Wasatch Front, where geoantiquities associated with Pleistocene Lake Bonneville are in danger of being removed, covered, and/or altered. The geoantiquities are either a part of the urban landscape or are in close proximity to urban areas, and can thus serve to educate the community on Earth processes and how to balance the natural systems with the urban environment.
Education is an important venue for implementing geoantiquity conservation because people are more likely to want to preserve what they can understand. Our approach to education includes: a) community involvement and outreach; b) field-oriented teacher workshops; and c) hands-on classroom demonstration kits. In all three of these educational efforts, individuals learn what geoantiquities are, how to recognize them, and their societal and scientific value.
Full Text of the article is available.
