Investigating the controversial phenomenon
The Giant's Causeway is made of basalt.
The Giant's Causeway is comprised of mostly hexagonal columns, whose tops form stepping stones.
The Giant's Causeway stretches along 4 mi (6 km) of Northern Ireland's northern coast.
The Giant's Causeway was declared an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.
And in 1987, it was declared a National Nature Reserve by Northern Ireland's Department of the Environment.
The National Trust (an organization for environmental and heritage conservation in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland) took over the site in the 1960s.
Most versions actually tell the tale of a feud between Finn MacCool and the Scottish giant Benandonner (also known as the "Red Man"). He essentially built the Causeway to fight his Scottish rival.
Plants also thrive in the area, including sea spleenworts, sea fescues, and frog orchids, among others.
The tallest columns are about 12 m high (around 39 ft).
The Giant's Causeway has been a popular tourist destination since the 19th century, and continues to attract thousands of visitors each year.
Irish mythology has an explanation for it. As the name suggests, the Causeway was built by a giant!
The Giant's Causeway is made of over 40,000 interlocking columns.
There's a version of the legend that says that when Finn MacCool saw how big Benandonner actually was, he pretended to be a baby and his wife, Oonagh, tucked him in a cradle.
A volcanic eruption around 50 to 60 million years ago is responsible for the formations of the Giant's Causeway.
As the lava cooled down, it formed those amazing hexagonal shapes.
The Giant's Causeway is located in County Antrim on the north coast of Northern Ireland.
The Scottish giant seeing how big the baby was, imagined the father would be huge, so he fled the country and destroyed the rest of the path so that this even bigger giant could never reach him.
Legend goes that an Irish giant named Finn MacCool (or Fionn mac Cumhaill) was responsible for building the Causeway with the columns.
Another version of the legend—and perhaps the most popular one—is that Finn MacCool arrived in Scotland to find a giant much bigger than himself and ran back to Ireland.
Finn MacCool was a mythical hunter-warrior of Irish mythology. References to him can also be found in in the mythology of Scotland.
The Giant's Causeway is home to a number of seabirds, including fulmars, petrels, and cormorants.
But there are many other versions of the legend. One version says that Finn MacCool was in love with a giant woman from the Scottish island of Staffa, so he built the Causeway to try to bring her back to Ireland.
Despite myths and legends, the Giant's Causeway is nature's work.
Because Finn MacCool is a mythological being in both Ireland and Scotland, one version of the legend says that the giant simply built the Causeway to travel between both countries.
One other version of the legend says that Finn MacCool bit the Scottish giant's middle finger, which made him lose all his strength and leave the country.
There is also a somewhat more relatable version of the legend. It says that the giants never fought, as they fell asleep from all the hard work building the Causeway.
Legend has it that Finn MacCool even lost his boot along the way, which can be found onsite, fossilized.
Identical basalt columns can be found across the channel, at Fingal's Cave on the Scottish island of Staffa.
The Giant's Causeway is a truly magical place. This geological wonder, comprising perfectly-shaped interlocking hexagonal columns, is surrounded by mysticism and tales of giants. Myths and legends are truly fascinating, and indeed this one in particular will make you wonder about the truth behind it.
Click through and discover the amazing story behind the Giant's Causeway.
Was this natural wonder built by a giant?
The legend behind the Giant's Causeway
TRAVEL Northern ireland
The Giant's Causeway is a truly magical place. This geological wonder, comprising perfectly-shaped interlocking hexagonal columns, is surrounded by mysticism and tales of giants. Myths and legends are truly fascinating, and indeed this one in particular will make you wonder about the truth behind it.
Click through and discover the amazing story behind the Giant's Causeway.