The Giant’s Causeway is about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns on the Antrim coast, f…

The Giant’s Causeway is about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns on the Antrim coast, formed around 60 million years ago when the North Atlantic was tearing open and volcanic lava poured across the landscape. As the lava cooled and contracted it cracked into mostly hexagonal pillars, some up to 25 feet tall, stepping down into the sea like a stone pavement. Identical columns exist at Fingal’s Cave on the Scottish island of Staffa — same lava flow. The legend says the Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhaill built the causeway to fight his Scottish rival Benandonner, but when he saw how big Benandonner was, his wife disguised him as a baby. Benandonner took one look at the size of the “infant” and fled home, ripping up the causeway behind him. UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986. Northern Ireland’s only one.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​