The Giant’s Causeway

Kali Wiggins


“Giant’s Causeway, Ireland,” by Jeff Mauritzen, National Geographic


The Giants Causeway is a stunning geological phenomenon located on the northern coast of Ireland. Tourist travel from all over the world and visit this extraordinary site to personally witness the breathtaking view of the causeway,and better understand the reasoning behind the famous legend about the giant who supposedly created it. Richard Pococke, who was well-known in Ireland for his documentaries about natural locations, personally visited the Giant’s Causeway and observed that it consists of tens of thousands of vertical and geometrical shaped basalt columns ranging in height and width.In one of his letters, Pococke recorded that the pillars have anywhere from three to eight sides, and they could range from one to two feet in diameter.

Like any unusual story, there is a logical and scientific reason behind the formation of the Giant’s Causeway. Since 1986 the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has considered the Giant’s Causeway to be a part of the World Heritage List. They credit the causeway as an important geological site,which over the last three hundred years of scientific studieshas led to a better understanding of basaltic volcanism. It is now understood that the causeway was formed fifty to sixty million years ago as a result of volcanic activity. Scientists now know the lava formed from the volcanic eruption solidified and contracted unevenly causing the many interlocked, geometrical pillars(Martin).


“Giant’s Boot,” by Sean McClean



Tourists find the causeway so astounding because the structural composition of the interlocked columns makes it seem as if it was man made; therefore several versions of the famous Irish legend about the giant named Finn McCool have arisen to compensate for people’s disbelief. Many of the stone structures have become linked to the legend because they resemble human items. For instance, “the giant’s boot” is a humongous stone that strongly resembles a boot, which compels people to associate it to the legend of Finn McCool and the Giant’s Causeway. (Martin)

Chelsea Martin, who is the author of many articles on Fairyroom.com, wrote an article about the Giant’s Causeway that describes a popular version of the Irish legend. Finn McCool, an Irish giant, grew tired of the ongoing rivalry between himself and a Scottish giant named Benandonner. He built the causeway in order to cross the sea, confront his enemy face to face, and put an end to the conflict.  However Finn’s plan did not go accordingly because he greatly underestimated the size of the Scottish giant. He panicked when he realized he could not compete with Benandonner. Thankfully for Finn, he had a clever wife who disguised him as the couple’s baby before Benandonner showed up. Once the giant arrived and saw the “baby”, he became terrified as he contemplated how giant Finn must be if his child was already so huge. This version says that the Scottish giant destroyed the causeway as he fled back to his home, to ensure Finn could not follow him.

Although some might not believe the legend of Finn McCool, the Giant’s Causeway itself is an incredibly unique formation that unites people from all over the world that are interested in its beauty. The ancient Irish legend of Finn McCool only adds more of an attraction to the world heritage site, inviting people who have an imaginative mind to visit this rare formation and better understand how the Irish legend began.

Works Cited:
Martin, Chelsea. “Mystic Places: The Giant’s Causeway and the Legend of Finn MacCool.” Fairyroom.com. Fairy Room. 15 Oct. 2012. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.

Mauritzen, Jeff. “Giant’s Causeway, Ireland.” Photograph. National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 5 Sept. 2014. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.

McClean, Sean. “Giant’s Boot.” Photograph. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Dec. 2004. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.

Pococke, Richard. “An Account of the Giant’s Causeway in Ireland, in a Letter to the President from the Rev.  Richard Pococke, LL. D Archdeacon of Dublin, and F. R. S.” Philosophical Transactions. 45 (1748): 124-127. JSTOR.Web. 8 Oct. 2015.

UNESCO World Heritage Centre. “Giant’s Causeway and Causeway Coast.” UNESCO. (1992-2015) Web. 7 Oct. 2015.

Links for Further Research:
YouTube: Giant’s Causeway, North Ireland by George Pollenhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTEBxxJ6MUw
This website contains information on the structure of the causeway and its legend.

World Heritage Site- For World Heritage Travellershttp://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/giantscauseway.html
This website contains information on the geological formation of the causeway for tourists interested in visiting this world heritage site.

The Giant’s Causewayhttp://www.geographia.com/northern-ireland/ukiant01.htm
This website contains another version of the legend and tells the history of the causeway’s first documented account.

Giant’s Causeway

Author: Zack Eller

The Giant’s Causeway is a geological wonder located in northeastern Ireland. According to experts from the Northern Ireland Guide, it is made from volcanic activity between 50 and 60 million years ago, during the tertiary period,  that later cooled and cracked (McGarry). The Giant’s Causeway is on the northeastern coast of Ireland that borders the Atlantic Ocean. At one time the area was believed to be a mound shape, but the water from the ocean got between some of the cooled lava making the pillars. After time the water from the ocean and the naturally occurring ocean breeze eroded the areas between the pillars even more, making the crevices between the pillars wider and deeper.

There are roughly 40,000 pillars, some of which can reach up to 39 feet in height. For the most part, they are hexagonal shaped, but some have as few as four sides and as many as eight sides. There is no answer to the question of why and how all of the pillars are between four and eight sided, and how none of them are connected (McGarry). All that is known is that there are many columns that make for a great tourist attraction as well as many stories that can be thought of about the origin of this masterpiece made by Mother Nature.

All of the columns are made of Basalt. According to the Stone Store, experts on rock formation and different kinds of stone, Basalt is made from cooled lava that is tens of millions of years old. The color originally starts as black, but after millions of years of weathering and erosion, the colors can change like they did on the Giant’s Causeway (Basalt Columns). This is a great piece of evidence about the natural formation of the Giant’s Causeway.

There are also many myths about the formation of the Giant’s Causeway. The most popular myth is that Finn McCool, an Irish giant, heard Scottish soldiers yelling insults across the channel. Finn began to throw pieces of earth into the ocean so that he could make a bridge to Scotland. After completing the bridge, he grew very tired and he needed to sleep. Before he went to sleep, he told his wife to dress him up as a baby. She did, and then when the invaders from Scotland came over, they saw Finn dressed up as the baby. The Scottish soldiers saw the vast size of the so-called baby and saw that he was a giant and they wondered about the size of his father. They fled before they could find out. When they retreated back to Scotland, they destroyed the rest of the bridge so the giant could not follow them (McGarry).

According to Voices from the Dawn, who are experts on tertiary stone structures state that after growing interest in the Giant’s Causeway, The Giant’s Causeway Company won a case that allowed them to fence in the area and charge people and tourists to come see the area (The Giants Causeway). People are allowed to step on some of the pillars in a fenced in area as well as to see the great natural wonder. The company helps to preserve the area keeping the natural wonder intact. This has been a huge fundraiser for Ireland. This is a tourist attraction that is second to none other in the world because of the uniqueness as well as interesting nature of the pillars. 

Photo by Christopher Hill, National Geographic, 2013

Works Cited

“Basalt Columns.” The Stone Store. The Stone Store.com, 17 September 20013. Web. 14 October 2013.

Hill, Christopher. Giant’s Causeway. N.d. Photograph. National Geographic. nationalgeographic.com. Web. 15 October 2013.

McGarry, Gerard. “The Giant’s Causeway and the Legend of Finn McCool.” The Northern Ireland Guide. The Northern Ireland Guide, 5 November 2007. Web 17 October 2013.

"The Giant’s Causeway” Voices from the Dawn. Voices from the Dawn, n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2013.

Links for further research:
The Giants Causeway and Causeway Coast:http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/369

Formation of the Giant’s Causeway:http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/giants-causeway/history/

Formation of Basalt Columns
http://giantcrystals.strahlen.org/europe/basalt.htm