The Chęciński-Kielecki Landscape Park – Paradise for Geologists

Description

It"s the most recently established landscape park (51,000 acres) located between Łośna and Bobrza Rivers in the south-western part of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains. Its sections of the greatest natural value are protected in such reserves as Jaskinia Raj, Biesak - Białogon, Chelosiowa Jama, Moczydło, Góra Rzepka, Góra Zelejowa, Góra Miedzianka, Wolica, Góra Żakowa, Milechowy, and Karczówka. Interesting are not only its geological features but also its rich floral life including over 1,000 plant species, which equals 50% of species on the national register. Out of 78 species protected by law, 68 were put under strict conservation.
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Currently protected area was once intensively exploited for mineral resources. Thus, many rare visual aspects of inanimate nature were exposed. On the whole European continent there is no similar place where  rocks representing nearly all geological periods are visible on a relatively small area. Covering the periods from Paleozoic to Cenozoic, the park"s mineral resources let us review the last 550 million years of our Globe. No wonder the Chęciński-Kielecki Landscape Park is known as the paradise for geologists.