The Giant's Causeway

       On the northeastern coast of Ireland, known as Giant's Causeway, you can observe the basaltic nature of the stone. It is a lava poured out from a great volcano ages ago. On that part of the coast it is hundreds of feet in thickness.

       Causeway means a paved street. This Causeway looks similar to a large unfinished pier. It is made up of many, many rock pillars, rising out of the water. These are so close together as to form a paved pathway, which leads downward into the sea.

       When people walk out to the center of the great slope they find that the columns are of different shapes. Some are three-sided, some five-sided, and so on up to colunms having nine sides. The columns are formed of many pieces from one to two feet high, wedged closely together.

       It is said that the Causeway does not stop where it appears to, but that it continues under the water to the opposite coast of Scotland. This may be true, for the same columns appear on an island just off Scotland's coast.

       There is an old Irish legend that accounts for this Causeway. This tells us that it was built by an Irish giant, out of politeness to a Scottish giant. He invited his rival over for a fight, but the Scottish giant was not able to swim. This roadway was then built in order that he might walk across. It was broken by the sea but the two ends have remained standing as we see them today.

The Irish Myth of The Giant's Causeway.