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Εθνικός Δρυμός Λευκών Ορέων και οι γεωεπιστημονικές του προσεγγίσεις

Ouranidis Ioannis

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Summary

In Greece there are 10 National Parks, which are part of the European Network of Protected Areas Natura 2000. The Lefka Ori (White Mountains) National Park is one of them, covering about 1/5 of the area of Chania prefecture. The area was declared a National Park in 1962 by the Royal Decree 781/1962 and delimited by the Royal Decree 74/1964. By Presidential Decree in 2016 the area of the White Mountains and the Coastal Zone was also designated as a National Park. The Management Body of the National Park of Samaria (White Mountains) was established by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources with Law 3044/2002 and started its operation in 2008, with the aim of protecting, managing and promoting the area, while now the Park is under the supervision of the “Natural Environment and Climate Change Agency” (NECCA). The main cause of the establishment of the Park was the protection of the Cretan goat (agrimi or kri-kri) and the biodiversity of the area in general. Initially the National Park included only the Samaria Gorge and the surrounding area, that's why the Park is also referred as Samaria National Park. All these decades what is covered under each institution and form of management is that the narrow core of the National Park is a geomorphological formation, a gorge. The wider National Park consists of a series of gorges within its microclimate and “geology” the unique endemic flora and fauna of the region has adapted.The aim of this study is a first record of the main scientific studies in the geosciences field that took place in the area. For this purpose, scientific research on tectonic geology, lithostratigraphy, hydrology and hydrogeology, 3D models, geophysical studies, soil science, the fossils that found in the gorge and the multiple geotopes that are spatially distributed mainly along the gorge were grouped together. First, the influence of tectonics on the evolution and configuration of the White Mountains and their geomorphology was highlighted. The study area consists of two metamorphic tectonic units, the underlying Plattenkalk Group and the overlying Trypali Unit, as well as Neogene and Quaternary rocks and sediments. Regarding the geological structure of the Samaria gorge and the Agia Irini and Imbros gorges, studies that have presented the 3D geological models of the areas were edited. Concerning the hydrogeology of the area, the geological formations have a directly impact on the drainage network, which allow the charging of the underground water reservoirs to cover the needs of the local community. On the Omalos plateau, with the geophysical studies, the carbonate bedrock was mapped and subsurface karstic structures were detected, while with the soil studies, the mineralogy and lithology and their correlation with the chemical composition of the soils were determined. Finally, it was found that the majority of the cherts in the Plattenkalk Group are relics of fossilized sponges. These fossils, like others found in the Samaria Gorge, are part of the geotope of the gorge. Apart from the Samaria Gorge, other sites in the National Park have been designated as geotopes, which with proper management and protection can be exploited, contributing to the geological dimension of the unique Samaria Gorge.

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