Outstanding Geoscientific Sites in Periurban Areas: the Case of Roses Lighthouse Geosite (Cap de Creus, eastern Pyrenees)

The coastal cliffs around the Roses Lighthouse (Cap de Creus, Mediterranean Costa Brava) display deformation structures generated during the emplacement of a syntectonic granodiorite and associated rocks (quartzdiorite enclaves and leucocratic dykes). These rocks were subjected to shearing and spectacular shear zones are present, which have been object of several scientific publications. The outcrops are considered of international high scientific value, being regularly visited by researchers and students from several European universities. In 2005, the site was included in the Geosite Inventory of Catalonia, but it does not have any special protection yet, despite decades of efforts to claim the need for protection and conservation in front of the constant deterioration and loss of outcrops due to strong urban and touristic pressure. A project of restoration, access improvement, and dissemination of geological values was finally executed between 2020 and 2021. The Roses case study leads us to the remark that urban and periurban geosites offer a good opportunity for promoting geological research, education, and tourism, provided its protection based on geoconservation criteria and a strong sustainable conservation management plan. We wish to thank Joan Esteve Danès, former councilor of the Roses town council, for his concern and awareness on the importance of this geosite and his involvement in dynamizing the project. We are grateful to two anonymous reviewers for their useful comments. Thank you also to Manuel Monge for providing a useful review of a previous manuscript presented at the ProGEO SW Europe Regional Working Group Virtual Conference on Geoconservation (March 2022). ED received funding by the Roses town council (Ajuntament de Roses—UAB contract GJ514392).