Museum of Geology and Paleontology is one of the
largest specialized museums in Bulgaria. It was founded in 1961. The first
collection was created 45 years ago as a demonstrative material supporting
the teaching process in corresponding geological courses. |
On this basis the museum was
established as an independent section later in 1961. Then it was opened
for visitors. The area of the museum is 260 m2.
The samples of the exhibitions have been collected
by many Bulgarian geologists. The museum is very attractive not only for
the specialists- paleontologists and stratigraphers, but also for visitors
with general interest in earth sciences.
There are thousands of fossils and rocks in the
exposition of the Museum. Most of them are from the territory of Bulgaria,
but the samples from Russia, Germany, China, Brasil and some other countries
are also included. The expositions are continuously being supplemented
by exchange and donatons.
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| In the museum are exposed the
following permanent exhibitions.
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Paleontology-
the fossils are arranged according to the biological nomenclature. There
are representatives of the Phylum Protozoa, Spongia, Coelenterata ( class
Anthozoa), Arthropoda ( class Trilobita, class Crustacea) , Mollusca (
class Polyplacophora, Gastropoda, Scaphopoda, Bivalvia, Cephalopoda), Brachiopoda
(class Inarticulata, Articulata) , Echinodermata (class Crinoidea, Asteroidea,
Echinoidea), Hemichordata ( class Graptolithina), Vertebrata- Phylum Chordata
(superclass Pisces, class Mammalia). The collection of paleoflora
consists of fossils from subregnum Chrysobionta- ordo Chrisophyta,
subregnum Magnoliobionta- ordo Lycopodiophyta, Equisetophyta, Polypodiophyta,
Magnoliophytina.
Consultant: Assoc. Prof. Dimitar Sinnyovsky,
Ph.D.. |
| Historical
Geology- the exhibits give an idea
about the development of the life on the Earth from Vendian to the Quaternary
period. The samples are arranged according to the age. Here are exposed
fossils and rocks from all over the world. Consultant: Assoc. Prof. Malorad
Vatzev, Ph.D.
Geology
of Bulgaria- characteristic fossils
and rocks, geological and tectonic map collection, conserning Bulgarian
territory and adjacent regions are exposed. Consultant- Assoc. Prof. Venelin
Jelev Jelev, Ph.D. |
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Structural
Geology- this is an unique collection
of morphological types of structures: primary sedimentary structures; structures
of magmatic bodies; mesoscopic folds; foliations, joints and fault rocks.
Consultant- Assoc. Prof. Manol Antonov, Ph.D. |
General
Geology- samples of common rock-forming
minerals and examples of the major types of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic
rocks are shown. Consultant: Assoc. Prof. Krastyo Krastev, Ph.D.
Monographic
collections- they are the most valuable
ones. Here are kept fossils and rocks from sientific publications. Exhibits
represented in this section are:
Jurassic Bellemnites -Prof. Maria Vergilova Ph.D.
Neogene Bivalves- Prof. Boris Strashimirov Ph.D.
Triassic rocks from Western Bulgaria- Assoc.
Prof. Michail Moev
Paleogene and Neogene flora- Assoc. Prof. Malorad
Vatsev Ph.D.
Cretaceous Nannofossils- Assoc. Prof. Dimitar
Sinnyovsky, Ph.D.
Cretaceous and Early Paleocene Echinoids- Eng.
Tanya Ilieva |
