The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking polygonal basalt columns on the north coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, formed by an ancient volcanic fissure eruption around 50 to 60 million years ago during the Paleogene period. As the extensive lava flow cooled, it contracted and cracked into predominantly hexagonal columns, some standing up to 12 meters tall, with the solidified lava forming a stepped, causeway-like platform running from the cliff foot into the sea. It is one of the type localities cited worldwide for columnar basalt and is linked in Irish legend to the giant Finn McCool, said to have built the causeway to reach Scotland. It became Northern Ireland's first UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.
Facts
Classification
Protected StatusUNESCO World Heritage Site 1 FAQs
How long did the volcanic activity behind the Giant's Causeway last?
About 5.5 million years, not the 13.5 million years once thought.
Research by the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland and the British Geological Survey found that the volcanic rocks of the region formed in just 5.5 million years. That is 8 million years less than the earlier estimate of 13.5 million years. The new timeline ties the Causeway and the wider Antrim Plateau to the North Atlantic Igneous Province, a major volcanic event around 60 million years ago. The columns themselves formed when thick lava flows cooled, contracted and cracked, creating around 40 000 basalt columns.
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Source Wikidata: Giant's Causeway
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Giant's Causeway - Wikipedia
IntroductionQuote, Introduction
It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986 and a national nature reserve by the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland in 1987.
Wikidata: Giant's Causeway
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