Seven Natural Heritage Sites Added to UNESCO’s Tentative World Heritage List

At least seven natural heritage sites across India have been considered for UNESCO’s Tentative List of World Heritage Sites, as per a recent statement released by the Ministry of Culture. This brings the total heritage sites on the list to 69.

The latest additions are a mix of 9 cultural, 17 natural and three mixed heritage properties under consideration by the world body. So, which are these? Let's talk in detail!

Deccan Traps at Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra

These sites comprise some of the best-preserved and studied lava flows in the world and are located in the massive Deccan Traps and within the Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary, which is already a UNESCO Heritage site. One might be amazed to know that the Deccan Traps are amongst the largest volcanic provinces on earth. It formed vast, layered basaltic plateaus through intense, prolonged eruptions over 60 million years ago. Reportedly, these ancient lava flows created the fertile black cotton soil important for agriculture and have also shaped the region's geology, biodiversity, and water resources.

St Mary’s Island in Karnataka

Another in the list is St. Mary's Island cluster, located off the Malpe coast, which features 88-million-year-old rhyolitic lava formations. It provides insights into the Indian subcontinent's continental drift and is a good case study for the volcanic history. The reports suggest that the basalt of the St. Mary's Islands was formed by subaerial subvolcanic activity since that time Madagascar was attached to India. It has been reported that the rifting of Madagascar took place around 88 million years ago.

Meghalayan Age caves

Do you know Meghalaya Age Caves are one of the few places in the world where the ongoing geologic processes are most apparent? As per UNESCO, stalactites and stalagmites continue to form here, further enabling scientists to study geological processes and timeseries in a virtually undisturbed environment. The caves consist of a complex limestone landscape which also includes very large underground rivers and unique climatic, hydrographic and ecological conditions.

Naga Hill Ophiolite in Nagaland

UNESCO terms the Naga hills to be "part of a complex system" and also part of the mountain ranges inside the Indian state of Nagaland, and the Burmese region of Sagaing is also called the Naga Hills. To the north, the Naga Hills rise up to 12,552 feet. Popular for its geological feature “ophiolite”, these are the pieces of oceanic plate that have been thrust onto the edge of continental plates, which further provide models for processes at mid-ocean ridges. As per UNESCO, it is an "exceptional" example of oceanic lithosphere obducted onto continental crust, which offers a rare and complete ophiolitic sequence with Mesozoic to Cenozoic magmatic and sedimentary rocks.

Erra Matti Dibbalu in Andhra Pradesh

Also called the Red Sand Hills, a notified National Geo-heritage Monument, it is one of the major destinations for visitors because of its unique and rare red sand formation. These formations are nothing but intriguing and were first documented by William King, the deputy superintendent of the Geological Survey of India, in 1886. These red sand hills represent a unique coastal geomorphological and paleo-climatic set-up, as per UNESCO.

Tirumala Hills in Andhra Pradesh

Popular as Silathoranam, Tirumala Hills is a unique rock formation located near the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Andhra Pradesh. If you can imagine a rare geological wonder, one of the very few natural rock arches in Asia, it will definitely be the Tirumala Hills of Arunachal Pradesh. Reportedly, the arch is believed to be over 1.5 billion years old, and naturally formed due to erosion and weathering of quartzite rock which measures about 8 meters (26 feet) in width and 3 meters (10 feet) in height. It is unique as the sand formations bear evidence of sea level fluctuations, which have captured the rise and fall of sea levels over time. 

Varkala Cliffs in Kerala

As soon as Goa's popularity went down, Kerala, especially, Varkala gained popularity some three years back. But hardly could one figure out how unique these Varakla cliffs are! Located on the Kerala coast, it not only has visually striking geological formations where Mio-Pliocene sedimentary rocks of the Warkalli Formation are dramatically exposed, but it is a rare formation that not only reflects tropical weathering, sedimentation, tectonic uplift, and marine regression, but also contains Martian analogue minerals and microfossils as well, as UNESCO notes.