Giant's Causeway and Causeway Coast
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.