Barry Slosberg, age 11, of Philadelphia, PA

Where is the Giant's Causeway?

Turn to the map of Ireland in your gift atlas. Now find the region called Northern Ireland. One of the counties here is called Antrim. It faces on the sea and the Giant's Causeway is just off its shoreline. This amazing natural formation of rock attracts visitors from all over the world,

One look at the Giants Causeway and you will see how it got its name. .The rocky formation juts out into the sea like giant stepping stones. It is formed of clusters of rocky pillars that look like solid iron, The rock is hard, tough basalt. Most of the pillars are six‑sided., some tall, some shorter. The clusters of the pillars are so close together that a knife will not go between them.

You can best imagine the amazing structure by comparing it to a pile of hexagonal building blocks, some short, acne tall but all the same thickness, Stand these blocks on end and stack them close together with the taller ones towards the center, Now turn the blocks into iron‑like basalt and multiply the size, surround the pile with the sea and you have an idea of what the Giants Causeway looks like,