OTHER GEOLOGICAL SITES

The UNESCO International Geopark Țara Hațegului is located in the central part of Romania, in an intramontane depression, in a very fertile region. The region is called “country” in all medieval documents to show the special character of this land. The Geopark covers an area of 1023.92 km2, including one city (the city of Hațeg – 13,000 inhabitants) and 10 communes, the total population of the Geopark area being approximately 39,000 inhabitants. In addition to very picturesque landscapes, deep gorges, caves, alpine forests, meadows, orchards and crops, the region is home to archaeological remains from the Paleolithic to Roman Antiquity and from the Middle Ages to the Modern Era. The most important archaeological sites are the ruins of the ancient capital of the Dacia province of the Roman Empire at Sarmizegetusa Ulpia Traiana, the numerous medieval churches including the magnificent Densuş church, a unique piece of medieval architecture, as well as the ruins of more recent castles and the old mansions of the nobles. The geopark is world famous for the late Cretaceous “dwarf dinosaurs” of 72-65 million years ago. Within the Geopark, 16 species of dinosaurs, both herbivores and carnivores, have been described, based on skeletal remains found in fluvial and lacustrine fossil deposits. Dinosaur eggs and hatchlings have also been discovered at some sites, as well as many other fossil remains, representing all classes of vertebrates, from fish to micromammals. The total number of identified vertebrate taxa is about 65. Very spectacular in this assemblage is a huge pterosaur (flying reptile), called Hatzegopteryx thambema (the genus is related to the Hateg region, and the species name comes from the Latin “monster”). This enormous creature, one of the largest flying animals that ever existed, had a wingspan of 12 m. Another geological feature of this Geopark is the tuffs and pyroclastites, resulting from the volcanic eruptions that took place in the region in the time of existence and n