LESVOS: Nissiopi Petrified Marine Park
The Nissiopi islet, on the western side of the island of Lesvos, is a highly
valuable part of the Petrified Forest of Lesvos with regards to its
environmental and educational significance.
The Marine Petrified Forest Park on the Nissiopi islet is the first marine fossil
park in Greece, and thus a unique experience for visitors. Visitors to the park
can tour both the terrestrial part of the island with its organized footpaths,
as well as the depths of the sea area around Nissiopi in a special boat with a
glass bottom.
The terrestrial part of the park hosts 44 impressive fossil sites containing
petrified trunks of fruit trees and conifers, still standing upright in their
natural growing positions or lying down, having been deposited on site by
flows of volcanic material.
One of the most outstanding excavation finds so far is an impressive giant
sequoia tree trunk, discovered in its natural position and reaching a total
length of 17.20 meters and a diameter at the base of 1.70 meters. Also
fascinating are the fossil sites with petrified logs lodged in different rock
horizons.
…experience a unique boat
trip to discover the geological history of the Aegean…
Due to coastal erosion of rocks in the area, visitors can observe various
volcanic and tectonic geosites as well as coastal landforms existing in
Nissiopi’s coastal zone.
The dozens of faults visible on the islet’s surface and on its steep coastline
attest to the intense east-west tectonic fault activity in the region in the
recent geological past, which resulted in the separation of the islet from the
rest of Lesvos
The Nissiopi Park hosts a rich flora and fauna with recordings of 62 species
of birds, 3 species of mammals, 3 species of reptiles, insects from about ten
different classes and 37 families, spiders of 8 families and other
invertebrates.
Among the animals worth noting is the presence of birds such
as the Falcon, the Ruddy Shelduck, Eurasian Stone-Curlew, Lesser Kestrel
and a great colony of common gulls (Herring gull).
The abundant benthic flora and fauna is characterized by the dominance of
Posidonia seagrass beds and the presence of important types of
bio-communities like coral and “forests” of the Cystoseirabrown algae.