The Volcanic Geoheritage of the Mount Bamenda Calderas (Cameroon Line): Assessment for Geotouristic and Geoeducational Purposes

The Mount Bamenda is a stratovolcano with summit calderas situated in the Cameroon Line, precisely between Bambouto and Oku volcanoes. It is made up of two main Late Miocene ignimbritic calderas: Lefo and Santa-Mbu that present interesting volcanological heritage. This heritage is made up of numerous geomorphosites namely Mount Lefo, Dome West, Dome East, West Rim, Dome Awing, Awing Lake, Dome Mbu 1, Dome Mbu 2, Mount Manah and Mbu Valley. They have been assessed using a method developed at the University of Lausanne by Reynard et al. (2015). The average scientific value of the geomorphosites is 0.77, because they are well preserved (0.95), rare (0.88) and representative (0.78) of the local geomorphology and principal features. They also play significant role for Bamenda volcano’s geographical history in the way that they modified the previous natural and rural landscapes. Although several geomorphosites did not play cultural role, their ecological and aesthetic value that has been qualitatively assessed is high. There are not sound nuisances around the majority of geomorphosites. The rareness of high vegetation or infrastructures gives rise to several panoramic viewpoints of geomorphosites. Besides, these sites have meaningful features that can be described for geotourists so that they can learn about their evolution or formation. Through these assets, Mount Bamenda calderas are the possible geotouristic and geoeducational destinations. Geotourism could be an opportunity for rural development, and it could contribute to efforts in alleviating poverty and rural migration. In order to improve tourist offers and raise the Mount Bamenda calderas in geopark in the future, some recommendations have been suggested.