Hungarian geological site recognised among the world’s most significant!

A geological site in the Bakony-Balaton Uplands, known for its unique “inverted landscape” of Plio-Pleistocene phreatomagmatic monogenetic volcanic fields, has been selected by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) as one of the top 200 geological heritage sites globally, according to the Balaton Uplands National Park Directorate.

The IUGS had previously published a list of the world’s top 100 geological heritage sites and expanded it by another 100 at their 37th International Geological Congress held in South Korea, Telex reports. This second list includes the site in Veszprém County, which stands as the sole representative from Hungary.

The Bakony-Balaton Uplands

The witness hills of the Bakony-Balaton Uplands. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Horvabe

The Bakony-Balaton Uplands volcanic region is notable for several factors. Molten rock, at temperatures exceeding 1,000°C, erupted to the surface through fractures in the Earth’s crust, interacting with water in carbonate rocks and sediments, resulting in violent steam explosions known as phreatomagmatic eruptions. These monogenetic volcanoes were characterised by a single eruptive event, a unique aspect of the region’s volcanic activity.

The Tapolca Basin volcanoes were active between 4.5 and 3 million years ago, during the Plio-Pleistocene epoch. Over time, erosion sculpted distinctive volcanic hills, known as “witness hills,” which do not represent former volcanic shapes but rather the remnants of eroded landscapes.

While such inverted topographies are common worldwide, the tightly clustered phreatomagmatic volcanoes, once filled with lava, are rare. The IUGS recognised this extraordinary geomorphological value in its acknowledgement of the site.

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