The Litoral Geopark of Viana do Castelo was created in 2017, after more than a decade of work to inventory the geological heritage of the municipality, which resulted in the identification of 13 areas classified as Natural Monuments. In this territory, aspiring to be a UNESCO world geopark, the geological heritage is preserved, proving that Portugal was once part of the Southern Hemisphere or was bathed by an ocean that no longer exists.