Some World heritage Sites are very unusual, for example the Giant’s Causeway, on the northern coast of Norther Ireland.
The legend says that an Irish giant threw some stones into the water to create a path across the sea to Scotland. He wanted to face his rival, the Scottish giant Benandonner who claimed to Ireland. When Finn discovers that Benandonner is bigger than him, he quickly returns to Ireland. When Benandonner reaches Ireland, Finn McCool’s wife disguises her husband as a baby. When the Scottish giant arrives at Finn’s house he finds Finn’s Wife tending her enormous baby giant. Realizing that if Finn’s child was so big, Finn himself had to be even bigger.
In reality, a volcanic eruption created the causeway 50-60 million years ago.
The Giant’s causeway, known as the 8th Wonder of the world, is one of the most amazing places in the world. It is made of around 40,000 mostly hexagonal basalt columns descending gently into the sea. The stones were formed by an underwater volcano’s geological actions.
Why that particular shape? Using the same sort of computer simulations engineers employ to analyze stresses in bridges and aircraft parts, researchers analyzed the stresses within a thick slab of lava as it solidified. They found that as the material at the surface cooled, it shrank more quickly than the underlying lava, which was still warm. That shrinkage led to a random pattern of cracks that typically intersected at 90° angles. But as the material cooled and shrank further and cracks grew downward into the solidifying slab, small cracks began to consolidate into large ones and the angles between them gradually shifted toward 120°
These unique rock formations have, for nearly sixty million years, fought against the North Atlantic storms. The rugged symmetry of the columns intrigue and inspire visitors.
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