Black Country Geopark

An amazing place at the geological and industrial heart of England. The Black Country is a special landscape in the centre of England, where the minerals on our doorstep and the geology beneath our feet, helped shape the industrial revolution and the world.

In the summer of 2020, UNESCO confirmed that the Black Country has been welcomed into the network of Global Geoparks, as a place with internationally important geology, because of its cultural heritage and the active partnerships across the Black Country committed to conserving, managing and promoting it.

This means that the Black Country is now on a par with UNESCO Global Geoparks in countries stretching from Brazil to Canada and Iceland to Tanzania.

Geopark status recognises the many world-class natural and important cultural features in the Black County – the significant part it played in the industrial revolution and how they come to tell the story of the landscape and the people that live within it.

More than forty varied geosites have been selected so far within the Geopark – that tell its story as a special landscape – and more will be added as the Geopark develops.

Sandwell's Geopark sites are:

Warren's Hall Nature Reserve
Rowley Hills and Blue Rock Quarry
Wednesbury Museum & Art Gallery and Geotrail
Sandwell Valley Country Park
Galton Valley

The Geopark has its own website, check it out!