Volcanic Rock Landscapes and Natural Heritage Values of Mt. Chilbo, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

Mt. Chilbo, a famous tourist attraction in the DPR Korea is a scenic natural area that has been nominated for Natural World Heritage status. In this paper, we present the volcanic rock landscape features and the natural heritage values of Mt. Chilbo according to World Heritage criteria. Mt. Chilbo has geological evidence of volcanic activity from the Pliocene to the early Quaternary and a beautiful volcanic rock landscape. The volcanic rock landscape of Mt. Chilbo includes volcanic rock peaks and pillars with mysterious shapes, natural stone bridges, stone gates, sea cliff and sea caves, which is characterized by uplift movement and weathering, erosion. The aesthetic and geological values of Mt. Chilbo, which are of global importance, are documented. It is concluded that Mt. Chilbo meets World Heritage criteria (vii) and criteria (viii). Mt. Chilbo is the typical representative of the integrated rock–controlled landform with natural beauty in the volcanic rock–dominated regions and reflects important on-going geological process containing significant geomorphic feature. Mt. Chilbo is compared with other volcanic rock properties in the World Heritage List. Overall, the results of the study revealed that Mt. Chilbo is a valuable geoheritage site of high conservative significance because of its geological and aesthetical value.