Geotopes of the proposed Muskau Arch Geopark — inventory, classification and evaluation

Criteria of estimation of geotope (geosite) value from the viewpoint of different social requirements (museum value, scientific research, nature-knowledge, youth education, countryside science) are not clear nor easy to define. The sys- tem of valorisation criteria of geotopes applied by the German Geological Survey looks like a good proposal for answering this question. The system mentioned above has been used for assessment of the geotopes value for the planned "Muskau Arch Geopark" area, located at the crossborder area of Poland, Brandenburg and Saxony. 95 geotopes have been registered and evaluated with the uniform criteria within the whole Geopark area, on both Polish and German sides; 34 of them are located in the Polish part. From the viewpoint of scientific research, 32 geotopes (of these 12 on the Polish side) have been assessed as valuable and of special value. As far as teaching and tourism values were concerned, 32 geotopes (of these 14 on the Polish side) have been evaluated there. In the light of that, the Polish part seems to become a substantial part of the planned Geopark.