Organization:
Category:
Web
Status:
completed
Priority:
normal
Description:
konnichiwa-japan is proud to announce the launch of the new Toya-Usu Geopark website! This site was designed in conjunction with Soubetsu Town to showcase the proposed location and features of the Toya Usuzan Geopark.
Geoparks are nature parks which are of scientific importance and value or which showcase a unique geological heritage. They are administered by UNESCO, the same body which manages the world heritage sites. In contrast to world heritage sites, focus is put not only on preservation, but also encouraging the research of the natural heritage ares on site, e.g. geological formations, topography, volcanoes etc. Geoparks are a place where the relation between humans and nature can be understood to a deeper level, a place for scientific education and disaster prevention studies as well as for promoting "Geo-tourism" of the local geologic heritage. This initiative helps create a sustainable economic and cultural development in the region.
In designing the Geopark website we put a focus on showcasing visually the spectacular nature and geologically interesting terrain within the park. We were able to do this with interactive walking tours, panorama galleries and seasonal photo galleries of the area. In addition, we wanted the site to be clearly laid out, easy to navigate and informative, showing the exact locations of places of interest. We were able to accomplish this using the Google maps API for our Places of Interest maps.
We think the result is an interesting and informative site that is also visually appealing. Please have a look for yourself at http://www.toya-usu-geopark.org!
- the konnichiwa-japan team
