Have you ever been to the Giant’s Causeway? Here are five gorgeous Giant’s Causeway facts for kids.
When you think about the giants causeway you may picture the hexagonal columns, however these aren’t the only shapes. There are 40,000 basalt columns making up the Giant’s Causeway and yes the majority of them are hexagonal in shape.
A hexagon is an eight sided shape. Other columns found in the Giant’s Causeway can have four or seven sides. Some columns are even cylindrical in shape, meaning they are circular. These circular columns are known as the Giant’s Eyes. Not only do these columns vary in shape but size too.
The columns can be any size from over 30 centimetres in width up to 50 cm. The height of the column also varies with the tallest column reaching 12 metres in height.
The Giant’s Causeway gained its name from the Irish myth about how it was originally formed. When discovered, the Giant’s Causeway’s distinctive shape raised many questions. The Ancient Irish people came up with a story to explain the Giant’s Causeway’s unique shape.
Legend has it that a giant that went by the name Fionn McCool (cool name) was fighting with another giant named Benandonner who lived on the Scottish coast. In order to go to battle with Benandonner, Fionn decided to build a bridge that would cross the sea and allow him to challenge his Scottish rival.
In 1986, The Giant’s Causeway was named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This became the first and only one in Northern Ireland. UNESCO stands for “The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization”.
The Giant’s Causeway is a hugely popular tourist attraction in Antrim, Northern Ireland, attracting thousands of visitors from all around the world every year. In 2017, The Giant’s Causeway had over one million visitors making it one of the UK’s most impressive and popular natural wonders. The Giants Causeway has also been used as a filming location for HBO’s Game of Thrones.
The rocky coastline around the Giant’s Causeway has caused many shipwrecks over the years. The most famous of these shipwrecks is the Spanish ship, La Girona. This ship belonged to the Spanish Armada.
In 1588, over 1,000 men on board were killed when the Spanish ship sank off the coastline of the Giants Causeway and today, the rocks are known as Spaniard Rock. The cannons that survived the wreck can be found near Dunluce Castle which is located nearby.
The unique rock formation was created about 50 million to 60 million years ago, when a crack appeared in Earth’s crust and lava escaped from deep underground and spread out in waves on the surface. Over a long time, the lava began to cool and slowly harden. As it hardened, it formed columns of a rock called basalt.
We hope you enjoyed learning more things about Giant’s Causeway as much as we loved teaching you about them. Now that you know how majestic this Giant’s Causeway is, you can move on to learn about other climate and weather stuff like: Thunder, Thunderstorms, Thunder and Lightning, Rainbows, Lightning, Floods, Earth’s Atmosphere, Hurricanes, Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Tornadoes, Blizzard, Wind and Tsunamis.
You can also check our articles about geography like: Australia, United States, Italy, Day of the Dead in Mexico, Festivals in Mexico, 8 Amazing Places to Visit in Egypt, Egypt, Festivals in India, Oceans, Rocks, Rivers, Mountains, Trees and 1 Interesting Fact about Every Country in Asia.
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