Wide view of natural volcanic rock formations with grass and lichen at the Giant’s Causeway, in County Antrim on the north coast of Northern Ireland.
The Giant's Causeway, with around 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, is the result of a volcanic eruption during the Paleocene Epoch some 50 to 60 million years ago. The unique natural formation was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. The lava contracted as it cooled, cracking in a similar way to drying mud, with the fractures extending down through the mass, creating pillarlike structures. These stone columns also fractured horizontally into segments with a convex bottom face and concave top.
Size: 5597px × 3798px
Location: Giant's Causeway, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Photo credit: © John Cumbow / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: ancient, backdrop, background, basalt, broken, causeway, columns, contrast, daytime, europe, formation, geologic, geology, geometric, grass, gray, grey, heritage, hexagonal, hill, holiday, horizontal, interlocking, ireland, landscape, mosaic, mound, natural, northern, outdoors, paleocene, pattern, people, pillars, rock, rocks, shadows, site, steps, stone, sunny, texture, tourism, travel, unesco, unique, unusual, vacation, volcanic, volcano, world
