If you want to experience one of nature's true wonders in Ireland, visit the Giant's Causeway. Situated on the North coast of Ireland, in county Antrim, the Giant's Causeway is an area of approximately 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. Formed between 50 and 60 million years ago, the 'causeway' is known to the Irish as the eighth Wonder of the World.
The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. Most of the columns are hexagonal, although there are also some with four, five, seven or eight sides. The tallest are about 12 metres high, and the solidified lava in the cliffs is 28 metres thick in places.
The Giant's Causeway was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986. It is protected not only for its beauty but also because it's cliffs, seashores, marshes, and grasslands are home to some 50 species of birds, like: Fulmar, Petrel, cormorant, Shag, Redshank Guillemot and razorbill, as well as to more than 200 species of plants. These include sea spleenwort, hare's foot trefoil, vernal squill, sea fescue and frog orchid.
Humans settled around the Giant's Causeway in the 19th century, but the site is now uninhabited. However, the Giant's Causeway attract three hundred thousand tourists annually. The site first became popular with tourists during the nineteenth century, particularly after the opening of the Giant's Causeway Tramway, and only after the National Trust took over its care in the 1960s were some of the vestiges of commercialism removed.
Visitors can walk over the basalt columns which are at the edge of the sea, a half-mile walk from the entrance to the site. The Giant's Causeway is open throughout the year and there are various facilities available at the tourist information point.
A.I.
