County Geology Site (often abbreviated to CGS) is a conservation designation in the British Isles, used in parts of Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland.
In the UK the designation confers no statutory protection, unlike SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest).
The designation shows a site's geological importance and the areas designated appear in planning policies, and on planning maps.
Many local geological sites were originally called RIGS (Regionally Important Geological and Geomorphological Sites) which had their origin in "Earth science conservation in Great Britain - A Strategy" published in 1990.
In some areas the designation RIGS continues under its original name (e.g. in Dorset,[2] and Greater Manchester), but in Wales RIGS now stands for 'Regionally Important Geodiversity Site', while in other areas the equivalent local geology site is now called a 'County Geology Site' (to correspond to County Wildlife Site, e.g. in Cornwall[3] with matched criteria for CWS and CGS[4]), County Geological Site (e.g. in Devon[5]), County Geodiversity Site (e.g. in Norfolk[6]), Local Geological Sites (e.g. in Staffordshire, Essex[7] and Berkshire[8]) and others.