The Earth has a long history, reaching back even before the first human came along. Since more than 4.5 thousand million years ago, the earth’s surface and life on it have been changing at a slow rate. Continents are continually moving, approaching or moving away from each other, deep ocean floors rising above sea level to become high mountains, new rocks are forming, while old rocks perishing; all these records of geological events are preserved in the geological landscape like the pages of a storybook about nature.

The rocks in Raja Ampat began to form more than 400 million years ago, but it was only about 2 million years ago that the whole of Raja Ampat was raised from below the ocean to become land. Since then, water has been eroding and carving the Earth’s surface, forming an archipelago of islands with beautiful landscapes. The processes of dissolution, wave erosion and collapsing cliffs in the limestone of Raja Ampat have resulted in a unique, diverse, and grand landscape of unparalleled beauty.

This coffee table book introduces Raja Ampat Geopark embodying the geopark vision of sustainable regional development pioneered by the world community to elevate the integrity of rural areas with valuable geological heritage/ international importance. With its natural (biological) and cultural heritage, the local community’s well-being can be enhanced, the shared values strengthened and its economy expanded. We narrate the uniqueness of nature through the beauty of the landscape, the diversity of heritage and the amazing storytelling of natural processes. We would like to thank all those who have contributed to this coffee table book’s concept, photography, and content.