Grant County Washington, near the Columbia River, 23 May 2015.

Deriving its name from local folklore, it is fabled to be the work of giants, particularly of Finn MacCumhaill (MacCool), who built it as part of a causeway to the Scottish island of Staffa (which has similar rock formations) for motives of either love or war. High columns of the Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland. (www.britannica.com/place/Giants-Causeway)

Giants Causeway, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK

Wider view of a valley which has basalt column features in Yellowstone National Park.

Dip Falls walk, Tasmania

This image reminds me of the organ pipes in Hallgrímskirkja, the largest church in Reykjavík (see my Reykjavík gallery). The design of Hallgrímskirkja (front exterior) and Harpa were inspired by basalt columns like these.

Grant County Washington, near the Columbia River, 23 May 2015.

At least that's what this image reminds me of. It also evokes the front of Hallgrímskirkja.

Basalt columns of the Giants Causeway Coast.

Iceland

Columnar basalt formations along Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach in Iceland

Bazaltzuilen

Photos from our weekend in Northern Ireland Sept 2017

Svartifoss (or Black Falls) in Iceland's Skaftafell National Park is a 20 meter waterfall known for its surrounding hexagonal basalt columns--a geological formation that inspired the architecture of Hallgrímskirkja (or Church of Hallgrímur) in Reykjavík.

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Allyson Brooke Conley - Giant's Causeway- an area of 40,000 interlocking basalt columns resulting from an ancient volcanic eruption. Northern Ireland

UNESCO World Heritage Site seen on a rather vicious day. There are said to be approx. 40,000 interlocking basalt columns here, but my guess is that many are hidden within the cliffs.

It is of course linked the the legend of Fionn mac Cumhaill, and Fingal's Cave on Staffa in Scotland, but I won't explore the feasibility here.

I suspect it is also the site of many accidents, with people climbing all over it in wet and slippery conditions. Basalt is not a soft landing.

14Apr2026

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