FROM PARIS TO GETXO

Paris and Getxo, Getxo and Paris. Two cities, two links: one architectural, the other geological.

Both cities are home to spectacular iron constructions built at the end of the 19th century: the Eiffel Tower, built in 1889 by Gustave Eiffel for the Universal Exhibition held in Paris, and the Biscay Transporter Bridge, built in 1893 by Alberto Palacio, himself disciple of Eiffel, to connect Getxo with the left bank of the Bilbao Estuary. Over time both structures have become emblems and tourist landmarks of their home cities. Both are equipped with lifts that allow visitors to ascend to gain spectacular views.

THE LUTETIAN

the other Paris-Getxo connection

The geological connection between Paris and Getxo is the Lutetian Stage. The Lutetian, which makes reference to Lutetia, the Roman name for Paris, is a term that was conceived at the end of the 19th century to name the limestone rock unit that provided the building stone for many of the classic buildings in the city. Later the Lutetian became one of the internationally agreed standard chronostratigraphic stages of the Eocene Epoch. The International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) aims to define Global Stratotype Sections and Points (GSSPs) of the bases of all standard stages, and the Lutetian is one of the few Paleogene stages whose basal GSSP definition is still pending. To this end, the Ypresian/Lutetian Boundary Stratotype Working Group of the International Subcommission of Paleogene Stratigraphy (ISPS) has chosen Getxo as the venue for a workshop on the Lutetian GSSP in September 2009. The Getxo area includes the Gorrondatxe beach section, one of the most expanded land-based upper Ypresian-lower Lutetian successions displaying deep-marine deposits. Accordingly, the Gorrodatxe section, which will be visited during the workshop, is a candidate to be selected as the GSSP of the base of the Lutetian Stage.