Abstract
This paper discusses the petroleum geology-related sites along the Middle Magdalena Valley Basin (Colombia) and their potentials as geotourism resources. This initiative is based on the experience of the authors over several years of fieldwork in this region. There are different geological and anthropic features in this region, which are closely related to petroleum geology. The geotourism represents a strategic alternative for the promotion of sustainable tourism. The present work refers to geotourism in regions with influence of the oil industry, which would constitute a pioneering example in Latin America from the development of a scenic georoute for those who visit the operations of the oil industry through tourism programs. The region of interest has beautiful landscapes and is very useful for performing different geoeducation and geotourism activities for geoconservation purposes. All these sites and features can attract people to visit this region, not only geologists and geology students who want to study the petroleum geology of this region, but also the local communities and tourists who are interested in visiting it.
Similar content being viewed by others
Change history
11 May 2022
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-022-00692-x
References
Abrams MA (2005) Significance of hydrocarbon seepage relative to petroleum generation and entrapment. Mar Petrol Geol 22:457–477. https://doi.org/10.4067/riatvol8iss1pp50-56%250718-235X
Afanador DJ (2018) Caracterización Geológica y Geomorfológica Aplicada al Análisis de Estabilidad de Taludes del Corredor Vial Bucaramanga – Barrancabermeja, en el Sector Km 64+570 al Km 68+720., Undergraduate Thesis, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga, Colombia
Al-Khafaji MW (2021) Biomarker assessment of oil biodegradation, water washing, and source rock characteristics of oil seeps from the foothill zone along the Tigris River. Northern Iraq J Petrol Sci Eng 197:107946. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2020.107946
Al-Khafaji AJ, Hakimi MH, Ibrahim E, Najaf AA, Al Faifi H, Lashin A (2020) Organic geochemistry of oil seeps from the Abu-Jir fault zone in the Al-Anbar governorate, western Iraq: implications for early-mature sulfur-rich source rock. J Petrol Sci Eng 184:106584. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2019.106584
Andrade MG (2011) State of knowledge of biodiversity in Colombia and its threats considerations to strengthen the environment-policy interaction. Rev Acad Colomb Cie Exact 35(137):491–507
Barrera C, Bahamondes R (2012) Turismo Sostenible: Importancia en el cuidado del medio ambiente. Rev Interam Ambient Turism 8(1):50–56. https://doi.org/10.4067/riatvol8iss1pp50-56%250718-235X
Burton ZFMM, Magoon JM, Sykes LB, Graham R, SA, (2019) Interpretation of source rock depositional environment and age from seep oil, east coast of New Zealand. Int J Earth Sci 108:1079–1091. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-018-01675-6
Bustillo MA, Elorza J, Díez-Canseco D (2017) Silicificaciones selectivas en Thalassinoides y otras estructuras biogénicas asociadas a calizas de plataforma marina y hardground (Albiense inferior Sonabia Cantabria). Estud Geol 73(1):1–19. https://doi.org/10.3989/egeol.42668.435
Caballero V, Parra M, Mora AR (2010) Levantamiento de la Cordillera Oriental durante el Eoceno tardío – Oligoceno temprano Proveniencia sedimentaria en el sinclinal de Nuevo Mundo cuenca Valle Medio del Magdalena. Bol Geol 32:45–77
Caballero V (2010) Evolución tectono-sedimentaria del Sinclinal de Nuevo Mundo, cuenca sedimentaria Valle Medio del Magdalena Colombia, Durante el Oligoceno-Mioceno. Msc Thesis, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Colombia
Casadiego E, Ríos CA (2016) Lithofacies analysis and depositional environment of the Galembo Member of la Luna Formation. Cienc Tecnol Futuro 6(4):37–56
Casadiego E, Ortiz A, Meza G, Colegial JD (2010) Characterization of the lateral and vertical continuity of the continental sandstones in the case of the Mugrosa Formation in Campo Llanito and Casabe. Bol Geol 32(2):13–27
Casadiego E (2014) Characterization of shale gas reservoirs integrating multi-scale data case study Galembo Member Aguablanca Section Middle Magdalena Valley Basin. MSc Thesis, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga, Colombia
CGS-ISAGEN-STRI (2020) Rescate paleontológico en el río Sogamoso Santander. Colombian Geological Survey - ISAGEM - Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. http://lapaleontologiaencolombia.blogspot.com/2014/09/rescate-paleontologico-en-el-rio.html. Accessed 26 Nov 2019
Clavijo J, Royero JM (2001) Generalized geological map of the Santander Department - explanatory memory. Colombian Geological Service, Bogotá
Dickey PA (1992) La Cira-Infantas Field-Colombia, Middle Magdalena Basin, Structural Traps VII. In: Beaumont EA, Foster NH (eds) AAPG Treatise of Petroleum Geology. Atlas of Oil and Gas Fields, pp 323–347
Dickson TJ, Gray T, Mann K (2008) Australian outdoor adventure activity benefits catalogue. http://outdoorcouncil.asn.au/doc/OutdoorActivityBenefitsCatalogueFinal270808.pdf. Accessed 3 Jan 2018
Domínguez de Olazábal I (2017) Arabia Saudí un gigante con pies de petróleo - Dinámicas internas y retos regionales. Documento de Trabajo Opex Nº 83/2017. https://www.fundacionalternativas.org/public/storage/opex_documentos_archivos/3aa40362d449336dd663d7559d7aed9d.pdf. Accessed 15 Mar 2020
Dowling RK, Newsome D (2010) Geotourism a global activity. In: Dowling RK, Newsome D (eds) Global Geotourism Perspectives, 1st edn. Goodfellow Publishers Limited, Oxford, pp 1–17
Erb A (2008) Saudi Arabia’s new golden age. Palermo Bus Rev 1:19–32
Escobar M, Marquez G, Inciarte S, Rojas J, Esteves I, Malandrino G (2011) The organic geochemistry of oil seeps from the Sierra de Perija eastern foothills, Lake Maracaibo Basin, Venezuela. Org Geochem 42:727–738. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2011.06.005
Farsani NT, Coelho C, Costa C (2011) Geotourism and geoparks as novel strategies for socio-economic development in rural areas. Int J Tour Res 13(1):68–81. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.800
Fonseca C, García J (2009) Modelo sedimentológico y estratigráfico de la Formación Mugrosa en el Campo Escuela Colorado. Undergraduate Thesis, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga, Colombia
Franco-Aliaga T, García-Guillen O (1999) Los impactos del turismo. Espac Tiempo Forma Ser VI Geogr 12:43–56. https://doi.org/10.5944/etfvi.12.1999.2572
Galarrage F, Urbani F, Escobar M, Marquez G, Martinez M, Tocco R (2010) Main factors controlling the compositional variability of seepage oils from Trujillo state, western Venezuela. J Petrol Geol 33:1–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-5457.2010.00477.x
Gómez JA (2002) Tourism armed conflict and peace in Colombia: betting on the future. Anu Turism Soc 1:57–69
Gómez E, Jordan T, Allmendinger R (2005) Syntectonic Cenozoic sedimentation in the northern Middle Magdalena Valley Basin of Colombia and implications for exhumation of the Northern Andes. GSA Bull 117(5):547–569. https://doi.org/10.1130/B25454.1
Gómez LA, Lancheros JA, López C, Patiño A, Beltrán A, Renzoni G, Quintero C (2008) Geological mapping and geochemical sampling scale 1: 100000 of char 150 - Cimitarra MMV. Colombian Geological Service, Bogotá
Gómez A (2014) Integrated geological characterization and distribution of the Salada member La Luna Formation in the central area of The Middle Magdalena Basin Colombia. MSC Thesis, University of Oklahoma, Norman, United States
Gutiérrez M (2001) Rock physics and 3-D seismic characterization of reservoir heterogeneities to improve recovery efficiency. PhD Thesis, Stanford University, Stanford, USA
Hettner A (1892) Die Kordillere von Bogotá. Petermanns Mitt Erg Heft 104:131
Hose TA (1995) Selling the story of Britain’s stone. Environ Interpret 10(2):16–17
Hose TA, Vasiljevic D (2012) Defining the nature and purpose of modern geotourism with particular reference to the United Kingdom and South-East Europe. Geoheritage 4:25–43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-011-0050-0
Hose TA (1997) Geotourism – selling the Earth to Europe. Eng Geol Environ. In: Marinos PG, Koukis GC, Tsiambaos GC, Stournaras GC (eds) Engineering Geology and the Environment. AA Balkema, Rotterdam, pp 2955–2960
Hose TA (2000) European geotourism – geological interpretation and geoconservation promotion for tourists. Geological heritage: its conservation and management. Madrid
Jafari J (2005) Tourism as a scientific discipline. Polit Soc 42(1):39–56
Ke Q, Zhang K (2021) Patterns of runoff and erosion on bare slopes in different climate zones. CATENA 198:105069. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2020.105069
Lanhenheim RL (1959) Preliminary report on the stratigraphy of the Girón Formation in Santander and Boyacá. Bol Geol 3:35–50
Lozano E, Zamora N (2014) Compilation of the Middle Magdalena Valley Basin - Annex N. Colombian Geological Service, Bogotá
Madero HD, Rueda JP, Ortiz A, Colegial JD (2010) Análisis estratigráfico para las arenas de la Formacion Mugrosa en área piloto implicaciones paleogeográficas. Bol Geol 32(1):27–44
Matos L, Pérez S (2019) Review of the tourist carrying capacity and the prevention of environmental problems in emerging destinations. Turism Soc 24:77–100. https://doi.org/10.18601/01207555.n24.04
Menchero-Sánchez M (2018) Colombia in post-conflict: tourism for peace or peace for tourism? Rev Iberoam Filos Polít Human 20(39):415–438. https://doi.org/10.12795/araucaria.2018.i39.20
Mier-Umaña R, Palmera-Henao TS, Luna-Osorio JS, Delgado-Blanco LA (2016) Stratigraphic analysis and reserve calculation of Campo Escuela Colorado, MMVB, Colombia. Bol Cienc Tierra 40:24–31. https://doi.org/10.15446/rbct.n40.51378
Molchanova TK, Ruban DA (2019) New evidence of the Bangestan geoheritage resource in Iran: beyond hydrocarbon reserves. Resources 8(1):35. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources8010035
Montgomery S (1992) Petroleum potential of Upper and Middle Magdalena basins Colombia. Pet Front 9(3):67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2003.11.019
Mora AR, Rodríguez CA, Pinilla J, Quiroga E, Cardozo M (2017) Geological challenges in the development of a Colombian waterflood using horizontal wells. AAPG Annual Convention & Exhibition, Houston, Texas, April 2–5, 2017
Morales LG, Podesta DJ, Hatfield WC, Tanner H, Jones SH, Barker MH, O’Donoghue DJ, Mohler CE, Dubois EP, Jacobs C, Goss CR (1958) General geology and oil occurrences of the Middle Magdalena Valley Colombia. In: Weeks LG (ed) Habitat of Oil: A Symposium, Tulsa, AAPG Bull 41:641–695
Moros LA, Serrano JN (2016) Evaluación técnico financiera de la implementación de una herramienta pulsante con la tecnología powerwave para la estimulación en pozos inyectores del campo La Cira Infantas. Tesis de Pregrado, Fundación Universidad de America
Organización Mundial del Turismo - OMT (2016) ¿Por qué el turismo? http://www.2unwto.org/es/content/por-que-el-turismo. Accessed 15 Jan 2020
Olaya I (1997) Seismic stratigraphic characterization of the Lower Tertiary in the Cachira Paleohigh, Middle Magdalena Basin, Colombia. MSc Thesis, Colorado School Of Mines, Golden, USA
Ordoñez LJ, Patarroyo GD, Torres JM, Mier-Umaña R, Zafra D (2019) Reconocimiento geológico del horizonte fosilífero de Los Corros (Esmeraldas Formation, Valle Medio del Magdalena). XVII Congreso Colombiano de Geología, Santa Marta, Colombia, 15–17 August 2019
Pardo A, Roche E (2009) Paleocene-Eocene palynology and palynofacies from northeastern Colombia and western Venezuela Universidad de Caldas ISBN 978–958–8319–95–7
Pérez S (2011) Use of sustainability indicators in Venezuela consideration for the study of tourism sustainability. Rev Ecodis Sosten 3:17–33
Pinto GC, Ríos CA, Vargas LY (2019) Comparative study on the use of a natural and modified Ecuadorian zeolites of the Cayo Formation on the remediation of an oil-polluted soil. Cienc Tecnol Futuro 9(1):93–104. https://doi.org/10.29047/01225383.155
Qiu JT, Qiu L, Mu HX, Yang WX, Chen F, Yan BK, Yu JC, Yang HM (2019) Geosites in Karamay city, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China. Geoheritage 11(3):1027–1042. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-019-00346-5
Rahman MJJ, McCann T (2012) Diagenetic history of the Surma Group sandstones (Miocene) in the Surma Basin, Bangladesh. J Asian Earth Sci 45:65–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2011.09.019
Ramón JC, Cross T (1997) Characterization and prediction reservoir architecture and petrophysical properties in fluvial channel sandstones Middle Magdalena Basin Colombia. Cienc Tecnol Futuro 1(3):19–46
Ramón JC, Dzou L, Giraldo B (1997) Geochemical evaluation of the Middle Magdalena Basin. Colombia Cienc Tecnol Futuro 1(3):47–66
Rodrigues J, De Carvalho CN, Jacinto A (2017) The concept of the geoproduct: Successful examples from Naturtejo UNESCO Global Geopark. Proceedings of the 14th European Geoparks Conference, Azores, Portugual, 7–9 September 2017
Royero JM, Clavijo J (2001) Generalized geological map of the Santander Department Scale 1: 400000 explanatory memory. Colombian Geological Service, Bogotá
Saavedra N, Jiménez F (2014) The need in innovation and technology in the Colombian oil and gas industry. Rev Ing 40:50–56. https://doi.org/10.16924/riua.v0i40.660
Sarmiento G, Puentes J, Sierra C (2015) Evolución Geológica y Estratigrafía del Sector Norte del Valle Medio del Magdalena. Geología Norandina 12:51–82
Sati V (2018) Carrying capacity analysis and destination development a case study of Gan-gotri tourists/pilgrims’ circuit in the Himalaya Asia Pacific. J Tour Res 23(3):312–322
Seguí-Llinás M (2005) Retos del turismo en el siglo XXI Mitos realidades y perspectivas. Revista Universitaria De Geografía 14(1–2):9–22
Telfer DJ (2000) The economic geography of the tourist industry. Int J Tour Res 2(4):303–304. https://doi.org/10.1002/1522-1970(200007/08)2:43.0.CO;2-K
Torres EJ (2013) Unconventional gas shale assessment of La Luna Formation in the central and south areas of the Middle Magdalena Valley Basin Colombia. MSc Thesis, University of Oklahoma, Norman, United States
Turner S (2006) Promoting UNESCO global geoparks for sustainable development in the Australian-Pacific region. Alcheringa Australas J Palaeontol 30(1):351–365. https://doi.org/10.1080/03115510609506872
UNESCO (2000) UNESCO Geoparks programme feasibility study. Paris
UPME (2018) Evaluación de las Cuencas y Estructuración de Escenarios de Oferta de Hidrocarburos Convencionales y No Convencionales. http://bdigital.upme.gov.co Accessed 15 May 2020
Villalobos M (2001) Estrategias en la protección del patrimonio geológico andaluz. Medio Ambiente 37(1):36–39
Wang L, Tian M, Wang L (2015) Geodiversity geoconservation and geotourism in Hong Kong Global Geopark of China. Proc Geol Assoc 126(3):426–437. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pgeola.2015.02.006
Weiske F (1926) Memoria detallada de los estudios del río Magdalena. Bogotá. Ministerio de Obras Públicas; Edit. Minerva
Wheeler OC (1935) Tertiary Stratigraphy of the Middle Magdalena Valley. Proc Acad Nat Sci Phila 87:7–30
Acknowledgements
The authors are very grateful to the Industrial University of Santander for supporting the development of numerous field works along the oil route, as well as for its analytical facilities. We thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions on this manuscript. We are very grateful to the people and institutions mentioned for their support.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
The original online version of this article was revised: In this article the affiliation details for Carlos Alberto Ríos‑Reyes were incorrectly given as “Escuela de Geología, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga, Colombia” and “Escuela de Ingeniería Civil, Fundación Universitaria Agraria de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia” but should have been affiliated only to “Escuela de Geología, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga, Colombia”. The affiliation details for Oscar Mauricio Castellanos‑Alarcón were incorrectly given as “Escuela de Geología, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga, Colombia” but should have been affiliated only to “Programa de Geología, Universidad de Pamplona, Villa del Rosario, Colombia”. Finally, the affiliation details for Efraín Casadiego‑Quintero were incorrectly given as “Programa de Geología, Universidad de Pamplona, Cúcuta, Colombia” but should have been affiliated only to “Escuela de Ingeniería Civil, Fundación Universitaria Agraria de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia”.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Reyes, C.A.R., Amorocho-Parra, R., Villarreal-Jaimes, C.A. et al. Geotourism in Regions with Influence from the Oil Industry: a Study Case of the Middle Magdalena Valley Basin (Colombia). Geoheritage 13, 107 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-021-00611-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-021-00611-6