The Giant's Causeway is according to legend built by a giant. In reality it consists of around 40,000 interlocking basalt columns which were caused by an ancient volcanic eruption.This is a World Heritage Site declared by UNESCO in 1986. It is also a nature reserve along some of the most beautiful coastline in Europe.
The Giant's Causeway has bee named as the fourth greatest natural wonder in Britain. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Northern Ireland and is operated by the National Trust. Entrance is via a new state of the art building which was specially designed to blend with the landscape and which has a low carbon footprint.
The intense volcanic activity around 50 million years ago pushed molten basalt through chalk which resulted in the cooling and contraction leaving the pillar like stone behind. As the molten mass cooled it cracked in a similar way mud cracks under the sun and what you see today is the result of this rapid cooling of the stone.
For more photos of The Giant's Causeway click here
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