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Concepts of geoparks establishment in Bulgaria and their geothermal resources
Bulgaria is the third country in the world by number of mineral springs after Japan
and Iceland. The Bulgarian-Russian collaboration in geological, environmental and landscape
conservation provided a new development of the methodology for identification, evaluation
and characterization of geodiversity including their geotermal resources. Individual approach
to the concepts of the national geoparks stressed on their scientific and geodiversity features,
environmental conditions and economic premises by defining one major geopark theme and
many minor topics. Regardless of their radically different themes, the geothermal activity in
geoparks is the common feature, which provides them with a great balneological potential. The
concept of Geopark “Iskar Canyon” is based on the remarkable geodiversity of the Iskar River
Canyon with a number of wonderful landscapes and scenic outcrops of various rock types
ranging from Precambrian to Quaternary. The concept of Geopark “Belogradchik Rocks” lies
on the famous Lower Triassic sandstone pinnacles. Geopark “Rila” is based on its remarkable
glacial landscapes - glacier valleys, cirques, moraines, arêtes and horns. The major theme of
Geopark “Burgas Lakes” is related with the ancient sea-level changes and balneo-healing
properties of their humus mud. Тhe unifying theme of these geoparks is the high spa potential
of their thermal springs that have been used since the Roman Age.