Essays on aspects of the natural world, its heritage, and how best to preserve it.Europe's engagement from the late sixteenth century onwards in scientific Earth science inquiry has generated numerous and varied collections of minerals, rocks, and fossils, together with their associated archives, artworks and publications, forming a rich cultural geoheritage held in major private and especially royal and aristocratic collections, museums, universities, archives and libraries. The mines, quarries, geological structures, landforms, minerals, rocks and fossils - or geodiversity - that underpin these collections populate past and present-day Earth science literature. However, for too long their scientific, historic and cultural significance was not universally recognised and generally they were not accorded adequate resources and protection - or geoconservation. Hence, geotourism was developed in the 1990s to raise public awareness of Europe's geoheritage and geodiversity and to promote itsgeoconservation; the volume's theoretical essays and case studies examine these four core geoelements and provide a timely introduction for anyone interested in natural history museums, countryside management, and landscape-basedtourism. Dr Thomas A. Hose is an Honorary Research Associate in the School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol. He has pioneered the recognition of and research into geotourism, and is the author of the world's first doctoral thesis on the subject. Contributors: Kevin Crawford, Peter Davis, John E. Gordon. Thomas A. Hose, Jonathan G. Larwood, Slobodan B. Markovic, Martin Munt, Emmanuel Reynard, Nemanja Tomic, Djordjije A. Vasiljevic, Margaret Wood, Volker Wrede

Introduction: Geoheritage and Geotourism - Thomas A. HoseBritain and Europe's Geoheritage - Thomas A. HoseGeological Inquiry in Britain and Europe: a Brief History - Thomas A. HoseMuseums and Geoheritage in Britain and Europe - Thomas A. HoseGeoheritage for Sale: Collectors, Dealers and Auction Houses - Thomas A. HoseGeoheritage in the Field - Thomas A. HoseGeoconservation: an Introduction to European Principles and Practices - Jonathan LarwoodGeotourism in Britain and Europe: Historical and Modern Perspectives - Thomas A. HoseProtecting and Promoting the Geoheritage of South-Eastern Europe - Thomas A. Hose and Djordjije VasiljevicGeoheritage Case Study: the Isle of Wight, England - Martin MuntA Geoheritage Interpretation Case Study: the Antrim Coast of Northern Ireland - Kevin CrawfordA Geoheritage Case Study: GeoMôn in Wales - John Conway and Margaret WoodGeoheritage Case Study: The Ruhrgebiet National GeoPark, Germany - Volker WredeGeoheritage Case Study: Andalucia, Spain - Thomas A. HoseGeoheritage Case Study: Geotourism and Geoparks in Scotland - John GordonGeoheritage Case Study: Canton Valais, Switzerland - Emmanuel ReynardGeoheritage Case Study: the Danube Region in Serbia - Djordjije Vasiljevic and Slobodon Markovic and Nemanja TomicConclusion - Thomas A. Hose