EVALUATION ON GEOHERITAGE POTENTIAL OF THE LOJING-GUA MUSANG ROAD, KELANTAN

The Lojing-Gua Musang road runs through outcrops that are home to various species of flora and fauna. The road also exposes several lithologies, including those from the Bentong-Raub Suture Zone and the Main Range granite. The area has significant geoheritage values that make it suitable to be geosites. The study aimed to evaluate the potential of the selected localities as geosites based on their educational/scientific, aesthetic/scenic, protection values and public safety. The geoheritage potential assessment was divided into two phases: (1) data gathering for the potential geosite and (2) evaluation using a scoring rubric of the Geosite Assessment Model (GAM). The sites assessed were Gunung Swettenham, Sungai Ber Hot Spring, Pos Blau brecciated limestone, and Pos Blau bedded chert. The assessment results showed that Gunung Swettenham and Sungai Ber Hot Spring had higher scores due to their aesthetic values and better protection. Brecciated limestone and bedded chert in Pos Blau area had lower scores in most of the categories of this assessment. To improve the quality of these potential geotourism spots, the study recommends the construction of basic infrastructures, including parking lots, information boards, proper pavement to the interest points, electronic monitoring devices, lighting systems, and security boundaries. Overall, the study suggests that with proper development, these geosites have the potential to attract tourists and promote geotourism in the area.


INTRODUCTION
Geoheritage emphasises the unique characteristics and representativeness of the geosites towards geology and its place in modern culture.The awareness of the importance of geo-conservation has sprouted internationally for the past decade and acts as a possibility to promote geoheritagelinked activities such as geotourism [1].Geotourism can enhance economic growth and employment, especially in rural areas.Furthermore, it can act as the primary tool for preserving and raising awareness of the environment [2].Malaysia is well known for its "Malaysia Truly Asia" tourism campaign that promotes the diversity of nature's beauty and cultures by establishing geoheritage and geopark.At the international level, Langkawi of Malaysia has been recognised as UNESCO  the World Heritage of UNESCO.In the past few years, Malaysia has established national-level geoparks, such as Kinta Valley Geopark, Jerai Geopark, Kinabalu Geopark, Gombak-Hulu Langat Geopark and Stong Geopark.These areas have been developed with careful planning, which takes into consideration the socio-economy, culture and conservation.However, most places in Malaysia are still under exploration for their geoheritage values.The detailed geoheritage assessment can discover more values which may contribute to tourism, education and conservation.Situated in the southwestern region of Kelantan, Malaysia, Lojing is a hilly terrain located in the Gua Musang district, adjacent to the Cameron Highlands in Pahang, as shown in Figure 1.The road that connects Lojing to Gua Musang town features a series of roadcuts exposing a diverse range of rock types and provides access to several natural attraction sites.Given the area's rich geological features and proximity to natural wonders, there is a strong potential for the Lojing-Gua Musang region to be recognised as a national-level geopark.The studies on radiolaria from the chert of Bentong-Raub Suture Zone show a Late Devonian to early Middle Permian age and are inferred to represent the age of oceanic spreading [4]- [5].Some of the fossils within the same age range were also extracted from the chert and limestone clasts within the mélange units supporting the dating of the rocks [3] and [5]- [9].
A major granitoid province named the Main Range Province is found next to the Paleo-Tethys sutures stretching from Thailand to Peninsular Malaysia [10].
After the Paleo-Tethys was completely consumed, the S-type granite dominated the Main Range, Province resulted in the Sibumasu-Indochina collision.Most of the radiometric ages of the S-type granite are Late Triassic [10]- [12].In Peninsular Malaysia, the Main Range Province granite forms a nearly N-S trend batholith.The granitoids are mostly porphyritic biotite granites with K-feldspar phenocrysts and minor hornblende-biotite adamellites [13].The Main Range Province granite has a crustal-source origin supported by peraluminous and potassic characteristics, a high level of incompatible and high field strength elements with high initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.7105-0.7310) [14].The K-Ar and Rb-Sr ages of the Main Range granites are within the Late Triassic, while the higher precision U-Pb age of the granites are concentrated within the same time range, i.e., 214-226Ma [14]- [17].

METHODOLOGY
The study was carried out in two phases: phase 1 consists of data gathering and general characterisation of the potential geosites; phase 2 is a geosite assessment in different aspects of the site (Figure 2).

Data Gathering
Multiple sources were consulted to gather information on prospective geosites through desktop research.
Once the prospective geosites are selected, conventional fieldwork is conducted to visit all sites for data collection.The mineralogy and petrography of the rock will be recorded.The orientation of the structures formed on the rocks, such as bedding, foliation, fracture and faults, will be measured, and their details will be described.The collected lithological information will be compiled and plotted on a map.Data on geomorphology, geography, facilities and socio-economic information relevant to tourism will also be collected, systematically organised and assessed to facilitate an advanced evaluation.

Geosite Assessment
Four representative geosites were selected after conducting desktop and field studies.The second phase is the quantitative assessment, where the sites were assessed using the modified Geosite Assessment Model (GAM) developed by Vujicic et al. [18].The assessment will mainly focus on evaluating the sites' Main Values (MVs), which include Scientific/ Educational (VSE), Scenic/Aesthetical (VSA), and Protection Values (VPr).The VSE value considers the rarity, representativeness, knowledge of geoscientific issues and level of interpretation of the sites.The VSA value emphasises the viewpoints, surface, surrounding landscape and nature, and environment fitting of the sites.The VPr value evaluates each site's current condition, protection level, vulnerability, and suitable visitor number.This additional parameter (VPS) has been added to the Geosite Assessment Model of Vujicic et al. [18] for this study to ensure public safety.This parameter assesses each site's security management ( VPS1) and surrounding environmental hazards (VPS2).To summarise, the geosite assessment considered fourteen elements, as mentioned above.The weight of each element is based on its definition as presented in the GAM (Table 1) and ranges from 0 to 1 (five grades).

Surrounding environment hazard (VPS 2 )
The access and the geosites are clear from hazards, i.e. steep slopes, falling objects, and slippery surfaces.
Extremely likely to be exposed to hazards.
Likely to be exposed to hazards.
Moderate chance of exposure to hazards.
Unlikely to have hazards. None

Description and Assessment of the Selected Sites along Lojing -Gua Musang Road
The map in Figure 3   Gunung Swettenham (S1) Gunung Swettenham (coordinate: 4.595867, 101.433341) stands at an impressive elevation of 1,961 meters at the Pahang and Kelantan state border.This mountain serves as one of the popular hiking trails in the Cameron Highland area, offering visitors the chance to explore both urban vegetable farms and natural forest areas that are equally appealing to tourists (Figure 4).The high elevation of the forest area has resulted in a range of mossy fauna, while other sections of the trail expose visitors to granitic rock formations with coarse-grained minerals like quartz and feldspar, providing a unique learning opportunity for those interested in geology.
Based on the characteristics mentioned above, the hiking trail of Gunung Swettenham is proposed to be a geosite.As the protection (VPr) of the site, its current condition is not damaged (VPr 1 : 1 mark), with the national level of protection (VPr 2 : 0.75 mark), low vulnerability level of the site (VPr 3 : 0.75 mark) and suitable for 10-20 visitors present at the same time (VPr 4 : 0.5 mark).The hiking area of Gunung Swettenham is remote, with no proper lighting system (VPS 1 : 0.25 mark), and the inclined hiking path could be slippery on rainy days (VPS 2 : 0.5 mark).The infrastructures such as pavement, staircase for the steep cliff, and directory signage of this site are necessary to improve the tourist experience.

Sungai Ber Hot Spring (S2)
Sungai Ber Hot Spring (coordinate: 4.71016, 101.56820), situated in the Main Range of Peninsular Malaysia, is one of the many hot springs present in the region.
The hot spring can be found in a granitic area situated approximately 300 m away from the main road.The granite in this region is medium-to fine-grained and highly fractured (Figure 5).Another hot spring location, Sungai Mering, is in the vicinity and is also in fractured granite, as Kamal et al. [20] reported.According to Baioumy et al. [21], the occurrence of these hot springs is related to post-magmatic activities.The surface spring water temperature at Sungai Ber Hot Spring can reach up to 72°C.For the scientific/educational value (VSE), this site has been rated as a regional rarity (VSE 1 : 0.25 mark) due to not having many similar occurrences nearby, low representative (VSE 2 : 0.25 mark), the relevant study has been published in regional publication (VSE 3 : 0.5 mark) and a moderate level of geological processes but easy to explain to the common visitor (VSE 4 : 0.75 mark).In the category of scenic/ aesthetic (VSA), it has two to three viewpoints (VSA 1 : 0.5 mark), including the view at the nearby riverside, medium to large size of surface (VSA 2 : 0.75 mark), it has a high surrounding landscape and nature (VSA 3 : 0.75 mark), and medium to the fitting level of the site to surrounding natural environment (VSA 4 : 0.75 mark).As the protection (VPr) of the site, it had the recent upgrades in infrastructure and was not damaged (VPr 1 : 1 mark), with the national level of protection (VPr 2 : 0.75 mark), low vulnerability level of the site (VPr 3 : 0.75 mark) and suitable for 20-50 visitors present at the same time (VPr 4 : 0.75 mark).For public safety, security is considered low with no proper lighting at night (VPS 1 : 0.25 mark), and the high-water temperature and slippery floor surface could be a hazard to visitors (VPS 2 : 0.25 mark).

Pos Blau Brecciated Limestone (S3)
Limestone is a minor occurrence of Bentong-Raub Suture Zone.A highly fractured limestone outcropped at a 50 m long roadcut section of Pos Blau (coordinate: 4.75697, 101.75956).The limestones show abundant shearing evidence and occasional brecciated texture.The clasts found in the breccia are commonly a few cm in length and angular in shape (Figure 6a).The secondary structure found in the limestone is faults.
The right-lateral strike-slip faults are common here, and they have N-S strike with nearly vertical dip, indicated by sharp slicken-lines (Figure 6b).The brecciated texture and brittle faulting show the occurrence of strong deformation in limestone.Some calcite minerals on fault planes (slickenfibre) are also developed into a perfect crystal shape, typical examples of geological elements.Thus, this spot carries a high value in education/ learning purposes for both academics and the public.
[a] Brecciated limestone composed of angular clasts [b] The fault plane is marked with striation and slick fibres In the rating of scientific/educational value (VSE), this site is given common rarity (VSE 1 : 0 mark) due to common occurrences of limestone in Malaysia, low representative (VSE 2 : 0.25 mark), the relevant study was published in a local publication (VSE 3 : 0.25 mark), and it is showing a good example of processes but hard to explain to non-experts (VSE 4 : 0.5 mark).For the value of scenic/ aesthetic (VSA), it has only one view point (VSA 1 : 0.25 mark), small size of surface (VSA 2 : 0 mark), low level surrounding landscape and nature (VSA 3 : 0.25 mark) and, neutral fitting of the site to surrounding natural environment (VSA 3 : 0.5 mark).As the protection (VPr) of the site, it has a medium level of damage (VPr 1 : 0.5 mark), with no specific protection on this site (VPr 2 : 0 mark), medium vulnerability level of the site which natural processes or human activities could damage (VPr 3 : 0.5 mark) and the current situation of the site only allowed 0-10 visitors present at a time (VPr 4 : 0.25 mark).The outcrop is located behind a waist-line height barrier wall across drainage (VPS 1 : 0.25 mark), and the possibility of surrounding environment hazards such as dipping surface is considered moderate (VPS 2 : 0.5 mark).This locality is at the roadside, which is easy to spot by road travellers.However, the staircase will be necessary for the visitors to access the rock exposure.

Pos Blau Bedded Chert (S4)
Chert is a sedimentary rock made up of microcrystalline quartz.A sequence of thinly interbedded chert with mudstone is cropped out at the Pos Blau's roadside (coordinate: 4.775810, 101.779219) (S4) (Figure 7).The outcrop is about 50 m long and 3-5 m in height.The cherts are grey to pinkish coloured.The individual chert layers are commonly a few centimetres thick, and mudstone is generally thin, i.e. less than 1 cm thick.The radiolaria fossils have been discovered in this sequence with the age of Early Sakmarian [22].The interbedded chert and mudstone is also an important unit of Bentong-Raub Suture Zone and witnessed the presence of the ancient Paleo-Tethys ocean.
For the scientific/educational value (VSE), this site has a regional-level of rarity (VSE 1 : 0.25 mark) due to localised occurrences of fossilised cherts in Malaysia, moderate representative (VSE 2 : 0.5 mark), the relevant study published in a national publication (VSE 3 : 0.75 mark) and it is showing a good example of processes but hard to explain to non-experts (VSE 4 : 0.5 mark).In the rating of the value of scenic/ aesthetic (VSA), it has only one view point (VSA 1 : 0.25 mark), small to medium size of surface (VSA 2 : 0.25 mark), low level surrounding landscape and nature (VSA 3 : 0.25 mark) and, neutral fitting of the site to surrounding natural environment (VSA 3 :0.5 mark).As the protection (VPr) of the site, it has a minor level of B A damage (VPr 1 : 0.75 mark) because of its high resistance to weathering, with no specific protection on this site (VPr 2 : 0 mark), low vulnerability level of the site which could be damaged only by human activities (VPr 3 : 0.75 mark) and the current situation of site only allow 10-20 visitors to present there at the same time (VPr 4 : 0.5 mark).The public safety at this location has a score of 0.5 mark for security (VPS 1 ) as it is along the roadside, and the topography is relatively low (VPS 2 : 0.75 mark).This site is one of Malaysia's outcrops of fossilised cherts and is worth adopting as a locality for knowledge of Earth's history.

Discussion on Potential Geosites in Lojing-Gua Musang Road
The results of the Geosite Assessment Model (GAM) evaluation of four potential geosites located in the Lojing area is shown in Table 2.The total scores of geosite assessment for each site are 8.00/14 (Gunung Swettenham, S1), 8.25/14 (Sungai Ber Hot Spring, S2), 4.00/14 (Pos Blau brecciated limestone, S3) and 6.50/14 (Pos Blau bedded chert, S4).S1 and S2 have relatively higher scores of GAM due to their higher aesthetic values (i.e.good surrounding landscape and nature, as well as better environmental fitting of sites) and better protection (no significant damage of sites and low vulnerability level).S3 and S4 have lower scores of GAM mainly due to the sites not yet established as visiting spots lacking viewpoints, the limited size of visiting surface, and the low-level surrounding landscape and nature (partly due to the extensive oil palm plantation).
More scientific research and international publication on the sites (S2, S3 and S4) will also help to increase the knowledge on geoscientific issues (VSE 3 ), which may help to discover new significant geological uniqueness of the sites.Then, it may become one of the attractions to the visitors.All sites are not well equipped with necessary infrastructures, except S2 has a proper access path from the main road to the hot spring and a roofed resting point.To improve the quality of potential geosites as the geotourism spots, the basic infrastructures such as parking lots, information boards and proper pavement to the interesting point of the sites need to be constructed.

CONCLUSION
The Lojing-Gua Musang road is next to a reserved forest, exposing various rock types and with hot springs.Those characteristics make this area a suitable candidate for geoheritage or geosites.Four selected sites along this area, i.e., Gunung Swettenham (S1), Sungai Ber Hotspring (S2), Pos Blau brecciated limestone (S3) and Pos Blau bedded chert (S4), have been assessed on their geosite potential.The total scores of geosite assessment for each site are 8.00/14 (Gunung Swettenham, S1), 8.25/14 (Sungai Ber Hot Spring, S2), 4.00/14 (Pos Blau brecciated limestone, S3) and 6.50/14 (Pos Blau bedded  chert, S4).S1 and S2 scores are relatively higher due to their higher aesthetic values and better protection.Further scientific research and international publication on the sites are recommended to help enhance the geoscientific knowledge and to find new values to attract visitors.Besides, the basic facilities (i.e., car park, information boards and proper pavement connecting to the sites, security monitoring, safety sign board and boundary) are required to improve the quality of potential geosites as geotourism sites.

Figure 1
Figure 1 Topographic map and selected sites (S1 -S4) for geosite assessment in the Lojing-Gua Musang area

Figure 2
Figure 2 Scope and flow of the assessment of the potential geosites in the study displays the geological map of the Lojing-Gua Musang road, which includes four specific sites: Gunung Swettenham (S1), Sungai Ber Hotspring (S2), Pos Blau brecciated limestone (S3), and Pos Blau bedded chert (S4).

Figure 3
Figure 3 Lithology distribution along Lojing -Gua Musang road and the locations of four geosites

Figure 4
Figure 4 The view is from the starting point of Gunung Swettenham hiking trail (S1) located in front of the Biodiversity Centre, Forestry Department of Kelantan State (Photo by Sagahayat [19])

Figure 5
Figure 5The Sungai Ber Hot Spring (S2) occurred in the fractured granite, and the hot water continuously seeps out from the granite fractures.The hot spring area covers about 1300 m 2 , and this site is approximately 340 m from the main road, Jalan Gua Musang-Cameron Highlands, with proper road access