In August 2024, The Ngorongoro Crater was designated and included in the list of the Second 100 IUGS Geological Heritage Sites.
The list, released by the International Commission on Geoheritage (ICG), is a collection of some of the most extraordinary geological sites of the world reviewed by 400 experts from 50 nations and 16 international organizations.
They are the world’s best demonstrations of geologic features and processes and are essential sites that serve to develop the science of geology.
The Second 100 IUGS Geological Heritage Sites, as with the First 100, receives the IUGS recognition due to their highest scientific value.
The announcement was made by the President of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) John Ludden, the Secretary-General Stanley Finney, and the Chair of ICG Asier Hilario, during the 37th International Geological Congress in Busan, South Korea, in capital markets on 25th-31st August 2024.
This is not the first time the Ngorongoro Crater has gained international recognition. In 1979, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), which includes the Crater, was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, acknowledging its outstanding natural beauty, ecological diversity, and cultural significance.
The Ngorongoro Crater
The Ngorongoro crater is part of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) which spans vast savannah woodlands, forests, and high plains, designated since 1959.
The Crater is also part of the larger Serengeti ecosystem, renowned for the annual wildebeest migration, and its proximity to Olduvai Gorge, a site crucial to understanding early human history, enhances its global importance.
Annual tourism earnings for NCA have soared to a record TZS 176 billion during the fiscal year ending June 2023, as 752,215 visitors flocked to the world-acclaimed site.
According to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA), which is in charge of the NCA, the number of foreign and domestic tourists visiting the area has increased from 191,682 visitors in 2020/21, to 908,627 in 2023/24.
The NCAA announced it plans to introduce new products including a zip line, nighttime tours, and promoting the elephant caves of Endoro Falls found in the area, as an ecotourism site.
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