Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy album cover really left an impression on me the first time I saw it many years ago. It shows a group of children sprawled out on stone steps, reaching towards the horizon (see above). It has an other-worldly vibe and it was only many years after when I realized that the background in the picture was something that actually existed. I thought it was a painting. But it’s not.
The album cover featured the Giant’s Causeway, a UNESCO World Heritage site located in the northeast coast of Northern Ireland. It’s area is made up of 40,000 interlocking basalt columns… the steps you see are the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. Discovered in 1692 and announced to the world, it became a popular tourist attraction ever since the 19th century.
Legend actually has it that an Irish giant built the causeway to fight a Scottish giant:
Long ago, an Irish giant named Finn MacCool roamed the north coast, where he could look across the narrow sea of Moyle to Scotland. A Scottish giant, Benandonner, was Finn’s greatest rival, challenging his strength and reputation.
As the two giants had never met, Finn decided to invite Benandonner to Ireland, to engage in a decisive battle. There was no boat large enough to carry giants, so Finn built a causeway of huge stones across the water so that the Scottish giant could travel on dry land; thus he would have no excuse to avoid the confrontation.
However, as big Ben approached, Finn realised to his horror that his opponent was a larger and more fearsome rival than he anticipated. He fled to his home in the nearby hills, and like any sensible man, asked his wife for advice. Oonagh, a practical woman, disguised Finn as a baby, complete with large nightgown and bonnet. She placed him in a huge, hastily made cradle, telling him to keep quiet and pretend to sleep, as Benandonner’s great shadow darkened the door.
Oonagh brought the Scottish giant in for tea, pleading with him not to waken Finn’s child, Looking at the massive ‘baby’ lying in the cradle, Benandonner took fright, saying that if this was the child, he had no wish to meet the father. He fled back to Scotland, ripping up the Causeway behind him, terrified that the awful Finn might follow him home.
Basalt columns are actually a common volcanic feature and you can see it in many other places like Armenia, New Zealand, Russia and California. I’ve seen a few of them but the Giant’s causeway seems to be most impressive. Here are some pictures of them. Definitely a place to visit in Ireland.
Source: FiveAcres
Source: alanah
Source: sumlin
Source: robertpaulyoung
Source: greinarr
Source: codepoet
Source: Aidan McMichael
Source: pseudoliterat
Source: brian77kelley
Source: vincent0923
Source: Christolakis
Source: chromewaves
Source: C Wess Daniels
Source: Aidan McMichael
Source: Travis S.
Source: Aidan McMichael
Source: Mark Sardella
Source: mundocuadro
Source: robertpaulyoung
Source: National Geographic
Source: annafdd
Source: coda
Source: Qole Pejorian
Source: jazzmoose
{ 42 comments… read them below or add one }
Fantastic pictures! I’ve been there and it’s a lovely place!
Ireland’s for jerks
I am longing to go and take some pictures of my own!
WOW!
This stones must have been liquid. I assume that their structure is very hard, because the sea did not manage to break them.
I literally got off the plane from northern Ireland 24hrs ago. Ive been to Giants Causeway twice in my lifetime. Decided to bypass it this time around. A complete marvel of nature. I remember playing on the rocks as a child. There’s a picture out there of the queens visit to Northern Ireland with a military navy vessel just off the coast (very cool).I highly recommend if anyone is in Northern Ireland to visit this landmark.
What a beautiful place! I would love to make it there one day!
RD
http://www.FireMe.To/udi
I saw another natural artifact just like this at a waterfall site in Niko, Japan. I still don’t understand how nature can produce such clearly-defined pentagons.
There’s one almost exactly like it in CuernaVaca Mexico. I have pictures. It’s near the waterfall in the Western part of town.
Very cool, A similar rock formation exists in California called Devil’s Postpile in the Mammoth Lakes area.
Been there several times (one of the few benefits of growing up as a child in N Ireland in the 1970′s) Amazing photos – but I have to admit I had not realised that the Led Zep cover was actually of the Giants Causeway – and I am a fan!
Q*Bert !!!!!!!!!!
I really hope there are wallpaper versions of these. That’s absolutely breathtaking!
Wow — amazing. Thanks for doing the research into this.
I wonder why they come out as near perfect hexagons? Anyone know?
I’ve been to this place so many times, it’s like an hours drive from my house.
it is also in Scotland too.
fantastik!
I always thought that the other end of the causeway at Fingal’s cave on the isle of Staffa was the more impressive because from the south west it looks like the whole island is supported on the columns. It is a lot harder to get to but there is not only the cave its self -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fingal's_Cave
http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&resnum=0&q=fingals%20cave&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
But if you walk round the island about half a mile to the east is a cliff face where the columns bend and one part looks like the prow from the wreck of a gigantic boat.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staffa
Cool yes, but not entirely unique:
http://flickr.com/photos/karendotcom127/462309073/
Jeju-do, South Korea.
wow – amazing, probably the inspiration for the fortress of solitude! truly incredible!
whats so special about this?
“Discovered in 1692 and announced to the world” The area was inhabited thousands of years before 1692!
Wow. Great pics!
Lots of good pictures, but far, far too many of them.
I am from the North Coast of Ireland and used to live about 10 miles around the coast from here. Its a marvelous place to trek around. Bit surprised to find it on the front page of digg…ya know, cos its a well known tourist attraction and rock formation – caused by the rapid cooling of volcanic lava so it probably didn’t take millions of years :) But then, I suppose when you link it to something well-known in pop culture (Led Zeppelin album cover) you can capture people’s imagination. Well done.
Nice but I have seen much taller and , comparing to these pictures, better looking phenomena in Mexico. Check out the pictures http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=18486383
It is ok to be protected by UNESCO but it is not unique.
Thanks.
These also exist on the Penghu Islands (between PRC and Taiwan)
It is called columnar jointing and is one of the many forms lava can take on.
http://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200705/causeway.cfm
Wow. its really super…. Great pics!
Nice pics. Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, US is bigger, but the tops aren’t as visable. BTW climbed it.
Fascinating pictures.
I’m embarassed to admit that it has never struck me before that Ireland is so close to Scotland that there is a direct line-of-sight approach.
The fact that I haven’t travelled much is quite obvious.
I must apologise to Finn MacCool and Benandonner.
:o)
Magnificent photo’s.
Any more to come?
GP f@cked a coon on these hills
The hex pattern is made because the minerals in the basalt cooled very slowly. What this does is allows the molecules time to align themselves and lock into their minerals’ crystalline lattice. Normally, rock cools quickly and the crystalline structure is just too small to even be seen, but in the Causeway, the rock had time–perhaps literally hundreds or thousands of years–to cool, allowing for enormous crystal lattices.
Absolutely stunning photos. Thank you for such a wide variety, allowing us a range of ‘seeing’ that we’d normally only get if we were there. I second BG’s request for wallpaper-sized versions.
i been dere it’s awesome
I ate some mushrooms once and I saw a formation like this in downtown Denver.
Very cool. like Devils tower in the USA. http://www.answers.com/topic/devils-tower-national-monument
This is a great collection of beautiful pictures.
Geologists say:
Large eruptions of basalt lava may create deep flows of molten rock. As the rock slowly cools it shrinks slightly. The stresses cause jointing in several different planes, and columns of rock form with a generally hexagonal shape, like pencils. The flow shown here is at Sheepeaters Cliff, in Yellowstone National Park. Note that there is a strongly developed horizontal jointing here, too.
The piece of basalt below displays the six-sided cross section of a column. Some columns may have five or seven sides instead.
Wonderful shots of an amazing place! Thanks for sharing. :)
Great place, good pics, brings back the memories of my visit. If you go there be sure to visit the little village of Bushmills close by, wink, wink, slake your thirst if you know what I mean!
That looks great.but why for giants?sizes aren’t so big!
I love the photos dude, looks like man made but its natural wonder.
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