Geology and geosite potential of Gua Ikan Karst Complex, Dabong District, Kelantan

The study area in the Gua Ikan Complex, Dabong District, Kelantan, is located at a latitude 5°21'15.35"N to 5°22'27.78"N and the longitude is 102°1'33.38"E to 102° 3'8.64"E. It is a part of the Gua Musang formation and Stong Migmatite Complex which is made up of Permian to Triassic rocks. The main objective of the study is to produce a geological map of the Gua Ikan Karst Complex, Dabong District, Kelantan, with a scale of 1:25,000 and research involves lithology, stratigraphy, structural geology, geomorphology, and petrography and evaluate geosite by M-GAM method. Marble rocks contain calcite minerals, according to laboratory and petrography analysis; their colours are pink, green in XPL and PPL, and colourless. Phyllite has quartz, which is grey and white in XPL and colourless in PPL; silica clay, which is dark grey in XPL and colourless brown in PPL; and opaque minerals, whose colour is black in XPL and PPL. Quartzite has quartz. In XPL, the colours are grey and white, while in PPL, the colours are colourless. In terms of lithology, the most common rock unit found is marble. The drainage pattern that can be analysed is the dendritic pattern. M-GAM is a method of evaluating the geosite potential of karst in the Gua Ikan Complex. The method involved both tourists and experts, and neither side was favoured in the assessment. Modified Geosites assessment model (M-GAM) is a model for assessing geosite and have same structure of indicators and sub indicators consisting of main and additional values. M-GAM is evaluating the perspective of two target groups whose divergent views on the value of sub indicators can influence the position of geosites in the M-GAM matrix. The geological map of Gua Ikan has been revised, the geological map of Gua Ikan has been updated, and the M-GAM evaluation of high values indicates the suitability of geosite with a high value indicator of scenic and aesthetic views due to their distinctive geomorphological characteristics.