The Giant’s Causeway, Ireland


A Giant’s Stepping Stones


Long ago, the ground cracked open. Hot lava flowed across the ground. It covered everything in its path. Plants burned. Rocks melted.


Water boiled. Animals fled. T e lava fi lled a valley. It formed a large lake. Finally, the lava cooled. As it cooled, it turned hard. T en, crack! Small cracks appeared in the rock.


Many cracks were deep. T ey formed pillars. T e pillars looked like giant stepping stones. T is landform is called the Giant’s Causeway. It’s in Northern Ireland.


12 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER About 40,000 pillars still stand.


Soil and grass cover them. T e soil and grass hide some columns. Others poke out of the ground. Powerful forces wear away the


stones. Waves pound the stones. Winds blast them. Tides and gravity tug at them. In time, these forces will change the pillars. Another million years may go by.


Eventually, one by one, the pillars will tumble. T e rocks will crumble into pieces. Someday, the Giant’s Causeway will disappear.


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