There are places where a breathtaking landscape hides deeper meanings. The Geological Park of Costa Quebrada is one of those exceptional natural gems. For decades this valuable natural resource remained masked by the beauty of its cliffs, coves and golden sandy beaches.
Located between the Bay of Santander and Puerto Calderón, in Santillana del Mar, and comprising eight municipalities (Santander, Camargo, Santa Cruz de Bezana, Piélagos, Miengo, Polanco, Suances and Santillana del Mar), the park is not only a very attractive coastal territory, but also displays a unique set of coastal forms and features that provide the opportunity to witness geology in action and to discover in a direct and simple way the origin and evolution of our land.
Visitors can understand this geological history through outstanding examples found along the coastal paths and inland. The simple observation of these eloquent features inspires the same ideas and conclusions reached by the early geologists, even for the public unfamiliar with the Earth Sciences. Geology is here, without a doubt, for everyone.
The incessant confrontation between sloping rock layers and marine action has produced a very diverse set of structures and forms that stretch along some 20 kilometres of coastline: cliffs, arches, islets, inlets, beaches, tombolos, dunes, coastal arrows and estuaries show the constant and relentless evolution of coastal areas. A closer look at the rocky outcrops reveals the remnants of ancient tropical reefs, huge beaches and forests, marine ecosystems frozen in time and the events that wiped them out. But the park also shows the close relationship between humans and the geological heritage throughout history.
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