The Copper Coast Geopark is a designated area comprising a stretch of the southern coast of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

County Waterford County Waterford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the city of Waterford. ...

, extending for some 25 km of coastline from Kilfarrasy in the east to Stradbally in the west. It was the first

geopark A geopark is a protected area with internationally significant geology within which Sustainability, sustainable development is sought and which includes tourism, conservation, education and research concerning not just geology but other relevant s ...

to be designated in the country.

History

The "Copper Coast" evolved over 460 million years after it was formed by volcanic activity in the

Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era, and the second of twelve periods of the Phanerozoic Eon (geology), Eon. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years f ...

period. The oldest

felsic In geology, felsic is a grammatical modifier, modifier describing igneous rocks that are relatively rich in elements that form feldspar and quartz.Marshak, Stephen, 2009, ''Essentials of Geology,'' W. W. Norton & Company, 3rd ed. It is contrasted ...

volcanic rocks have intrusive elements and are interspersed with

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of Clay mineral, clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g., Kaolinite, kaolin, aluminium, Al2Silicon, Si2Oxygen, O5(hydroxide, OH)4) and tiny f ...

s. Sedimentary rocks from 370 to 360 Mya can be seen as reddish-brown conglomerates,

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

siltstone Siltstone, also known as aleurolite, is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed mostly of silt. It is a form of mudrock with a low clay mineral content, which can be distinguished from shale by its lack of fissility. Although its permeabil ...

s and shales. After a wide gap in geological time, the next exposed sequences are from the

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...

period, and consist of unconsolidated tills, boulder clays and deposits of sand and gravel. The geopark encompasses about of coastline south of the Comeragh Mountains, extending from Stradbally to Kilfarrasy. The area is a plain, mostly covered by glacial till and bog, with cliffs at the sea edge. There are several streams flowing through deeply cut valleys to beaches and coves, with stack rocks and rocky headlands. The area has a rich cultural heritage, with

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

dolmens,

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

forts, pre-Christian inscribed stones, the remains of medieval churches and a castle. The coast is named for the historic metal-mining industry, the legacies of which now constitute a tourist attraction. The idea of the geopark developed from a local interest group, starting around 1997. The area was declared a European Geopark in 2001 and joined the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Global Geoparks Network UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGp) are geoparks certified by the UNESCO Global Geoparks Council as meeting all the requirements for belonging to the Global Geoparks Network (GGN). The GGN is both a network of geoparks and the agency of the United Nati ...

in 2004, being designated a UNESCO Global Geopark in 2015. This was done to aid in sustainability but also with a view to boosting the profile of the area as a tourist destination.

Panorama

Features

This geologically diverse area contains records of

Palaeozoic The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma at the start of ...

volcanism Volcanism, vulcanism, volcanicity, or volcanic activity is the phenomenon where solids, liquids, gases, and their mixtures erupt to the surface of a solid-surface astronomical body such as a planet or a moon. It is caused by the presence of a he ...

and the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

- a heritage which is interpreted locally for the visitor. The geopark trust maintains a visitor centre at Monksland Church in Knockmahon. It also owns an old engine house, part of the industrial heritage.

Organisation

The geopark is overseen by a charitable company, with voluntary local and expert directors, and a staff of a part-time manager and a geologist, supported by volunteer guides, and community employment workers from Solas and Tus.

References

External links

{{coord missing, County Waterford Parks in County Waterford Geoparks in the Republic of Ireland Global Geoparks Network members Coasts of Ireland