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Giant’s Causeway

The dramatic sight has inspired legends of giants striding over the sea to Scotland. Geological studies of these formations over the last 300 years have greatly contributed to the development of the earth sciences, and show that this striking landscape was caused by volcanic activity during the Tertiary, some 50–60 million years ago.

Northern Ireland

Giant’s Causeway

The Giant’s Causeway lies at the foot of the basalt cliffs along the sea coast on the edge of the Antrim plateau in Northern Ireland. It is made up of some 40,000 massive black basalt columns sticking out of the sea. The dramatic sight has inspired legends of giants striding over the sea to Scotland.

Geological studies of these formations over the last 300 years have greatly contributed to the development of the earth sciences, and show that this striking landscape was caused by volcanic activity during the Tertiary, some 50–60 million years ago.

Official website

Did you know..?

It’s called ‘The Giant’s Causeway’ because according to legend, it was actually the work of Irish giant Finn McCool who created it in order to cross Scotland so he could go into battle against his enemy Benandonner.

Did you know, the Giant Boot, which fell of Finn McCool as he ran away from Benandonner, measures a size 93.5! The laces came loose too and got washed up further along the coast where they were used to build the rope bridge at Carrick-a-Rede.

The Giant’s Causeway is made up of over 40,000 pillars of rock. Most are six-sided but there are some that have three, four, five or seven sides!

Stats

Location: Northern Ireland

Country: United Kingdom

Year of Inscription: 1986

UNESCO Criteria: (vii), (viii)

Contact information:

For more information about Giant’s Causeway, visit the website or contact visitor information on +44 (0)28 2075 210

by Enric Moreu on Unsplash