GeoMôn UNESCO Global Geopark

Welcome to Anglesey (Môn), the largest of the Welsh islands, covering some 280 square miles with 120 miles (201 km) of fabulous coastline, situated in the north west corner of Wales, – a place with spectacular geology spanning 1,800 million years and more than 100 rock types including the oldest fossils in the UK. Anglesey is designated as a Global Geopark validated by UNESCO, the name GeoMôn is a combination of ‘Geo’ for all things geological /geographical / environmental and ‘Môn’, the Welsh language name for Anglesey. Here we demystify some of these terms:

So GeoMôn fits into a worldwide family of special places aiming to protect our environment and heritage while promoting sustainable development,

What is the GeoMôn UNESCO Global Geopark?

GeoMôn Global Geopark is an organisation recognised and designated by UNESCO as a member of their Global Geopark Network, a designation equivalent to World Heritage Status or Biosphere. We conform to their standards (and are subject to revalidation every 4 years), attend the annual coordination meetings, engage in their various projects and networks and participate in annual conferences (abstracts of all previous conferences available here). We are a company limited by guarantee and a charity, run by a board of 13 elected trustees, 7 of whom live in the Geopark and 3 of us are native Welsh speakers.

Our mission is to develop Anglesey’s spectacular geoheritage as a resource for education and recreation for both visitors and residents of the Island and thereby to improve the local economy and employment prospects on the island.

Our strategic objectives are to:

Promote the Geopark, in particular to the local community, to visitors and to those seeking knowledge of the island’s geology.
Encourage awareness of, and educate about, the geodiversity and geoheritage, the historical, cultural and economic importance of the area, and encourage further geological and related research.
Promote awareness of climate change both and how it affects Anglesey in particular
Work to encourage businesses, educational groups, voluntary and statutory agencies to generate further employment and environmentally responsible and sustainable development within the Geopark.
Manage our organisation efficiently, developing such systems, management structures and methodologies as are required to implement these strategic objectives.

Our Strategic Alliance of local government, businesses and tourism organisations help us to deliver on our strategic objectives.

Join us to explore and discover this outstanding Geo-heritage, which underpins all aspects of landscape development, biodiversity, land use, human history, agriculture and even culture. Geological sites have been selected for scientific quality, rarity, aesthetic appeal and educational value. Their interest may also be archaeological, ecological, historical, or cultural. It is from this geology that the island derives its local and regional distinctiveness and character.

Farmers prepare soils for potato growing; these soils blew in a major sandstorm in the 13th century. [J Conway]

Each rock type creates its own landscape either from its own characteristics, or from the way it reacts to the forces of erosion, or by how it weathers to form soils which underpin biodiversity and land use. Stunning rocky cliffs, extensive sandy beaches, small rocky coves, ancient monuments and settlements, and a variety of quarries and mines are some of the characteristics of our landscape. The human landscape is defined by building stones influencing architecture and by soils influencing agriculture and forestry.

Anglesey is :

home to the oldest fossils in the UK
home of what was the largest copper mine in the world in its heyday
helped Nelson win the battle of Trafalgar
home of the largest AONB in Wales
source of the building stones of the Liver Building, Birmingham City Hall and many other classic buildings
home to exclusively red squirrels

Red squirrel — Anglesey is famous for its red squirrels (photo by Sarah Kingman)

Explore our website to learn more, to find out how you can enjoy the beauty that is Anglesey, what makes it GeoMôn Global Geopark and why UNESCO approved our application to join the global network