The scientific, didactic and tourist potential of the Botumirim State Park, Minas Gerais

Abstract

Protected areas are tourist and educational destinations for visitors from different parts of the country and the world, who find nature their main motivation. The general objective of this research is to analyze the scientific, didactic and tourist potential of the Botumirim State Park conservation unit. To this end, bibliographical research was used, maps were created using the ArcGis 10.3 software and the geodiversity of the park was evaluated in a qualitative and quantitative way, based on scientific, didactic and tourist values, in addition to its risk of degradation. Despite the difference in scores, the evaluation proved the didactic and tourist relevance of geosites and geodiversity sites. The attractions evaluated were classified as having local, national and international relevance according to the established criteria, with values between 280 and 380 points in didactic potential and between 175 and 325 in tourist potential. In terms of scientific value, good results were also found, with a variation between 170 and 355 points. The attractions of geological/ geomorphological interest researched can be worked on in Basic Education in an integrated way, adopting a holistic view of nature.