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Giant’s Causeway

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  Location: Northern Ireland (United Kingdom) (Continent of Europe)
• Created by: Formed by volcanic eruptions, the lava flows slowly to the sea and cools down. The hardened lava cracked and formed the pillars when after it cooled.
• Date created: 50 to 60 million years ago
• Size: 4 mi (6 km) along the northern coast. The pillars are about 15-20 in (38-51 cm) in diameter (around) and up to 82 ft (25 m) in height. There are also pillars on nearby cliffs, which can be 330 ft (100 m) in height
• There are about 40,000 of these basalt pillars, most of which have six sides, but some have 5-8 sides.
• Around 2011, geologists (a person who studies the Earth) found stromatolites (rock-like structures made by bacteria called blue-green algae) in the colder water of Ireland. People can find these structures in warm water, so it was a significant find (this bacteria acts as a plant because they use photosynthesis).
• There are about 50 different species of birds that make their homes here, so if you like to bird-watch, you will see shags, redshanks, and the razorbill, to name just a few.
• Over 300,000 visitors go to the Giants Causeway each year, climb on the rocks, hike along the coast, and explore nearby caves.
• There is an old myth: A giant called Finn McCool from Ireland was trying to protect his homeland from a Scottish giant named Benandonner. The Scottish giant was trying to take the island of Ireland for himself. To help protect the island, McCool threw huge rocks and hurled them into the water, forming a bridge (causeway), so he could go to Scotland and defeat Benandonner. Once McCool got to Scotland, he realized he was much smaller than Benandonner, so he needed a new idea. McCool ran back to Ireland and dressed up like a baby to fool Benandonner into thinking the babies of Ireland were the size of a small giant. When Benandonner crossed the causeway, he was the “baby” McCool and got scared because if the baby was that big, his father must be enormous. Benandonner raced back to Scotland, and on his way back, he destroyed the bridge, so McCool could not come after him. This myth is why you can find the basalt pillars in Ireland and Scotland.