sustainability Article Puyango, Ecuador Petrified Forest, a Geological Heritage of the Cretaceous Albian-Middle, and Its Relevance for the Sustainable Development of Geotourism Fernando Morante-Carballo 1,2,3,* , Geanella Herrera-Narváez 1,4,*, Nelson Jiménez-Orellana 4 and Paúl Carrión-Mero 1,4 1 Centro de Investigación y Proyectos Aplicados a las Ciencias de la Tierra (CIPAT), ESPOL Polytechnic University, Campus Gustavo Galindo Km. 30.5 Vía Perimetral, 9015863 Guayaquil, Ecuador;
[email protected] 2 Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Matemáticas (FCNM), ESPOL Polytechnic University, Campus Gustavo Galindo Km. 30.5 Vía Perimetral, 9015863 Guayaquil, Ecuador 3 Geo-recursos y Aplicaciones GIGA, ESPOL Polytechnic University, Campus Gustavo Galindo Km. 30.5 Vía Perimetral, 9015863 Guayaquil, Ecuador 4 Facultad de Ingeniería en Ciencias de la Tierra (FICT), ESPOL Polytechnic University, Campus Gustavo Galindo Km 30.5 Vía Perimetral, 9015863 Guayaquil, Ecuador;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected] (F.M.-C.);
[email protected] (G.H.-N); Tel.: +59-396-976-0276 (F.M.-C.) Received: 7 July 2020; Accepted: 6 August 2020; Published: 14 August 2020 Abstract: Geodiversity treaties have multiplied and given rise to geological heritage as a singular value of protection and preservation for territories. The Puyango Petrified Forest (PPF) is a recognized Ecuadorian reserve, which was declared a National Heritage Treasure. It has an area of 2659 hectares, and it is located in the south of Ecuador, between the provinces of El Oro and Loja. The petrified trunks and trees were buried by volcanic lava, dating from the Cretaceous Period, 96 to 112 million years ago.