County Antrim includes the Glens of Antrim, the Giant's Causeway, Rathlin Island and a lot more - especially for those interested in extinct volcanoes, such as Slemish. The basalt rocks of the Giant's Causeway (a World Heritage site) overlie fossil-rich chalk beds. The north coast also includes long sandy beaches, as at Ballycastle, and clifftop views of Rathlin Island and Scotland.
9/52 Black Collection Department of Geology, Ulster Museum
9/13 Black Collection Department of Geology, Ulster Museum
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The Giant's Causeway is a series of Tertiary basalt columns exposed by marine erosion. It is part of a much larger columnar basalt field extending to the Isle of Staffa, Scotland. |
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Shrinkage of the basalt as it cools from hot, molten lava gives the basalt of the Giant's Causeway its distinctive polygonal shape. |
