These are some of the 40,000 basalt columns that make up the main formations at Giant's Causeway. The Causeway is on the north coast of County Antrim in Northern Ireland and is a popular tourist destination. Interestingly, when we lived in Northern Ireland in the 90's there were many fewer visitors, no visitors' center and no fees. Now there is huge visitors' center, busses to the Causeway, and parking fees to accommodate the thousands of visitors. The name refers to an Irish legend about the formation of the Causeway by a giant named Finn McCool - according to the legend he tore up and threw into the sea massive chunks of the coast in order to make a causeway to Scotland (which has similar coastal formations) so that he could fight the Scottish giant Benandonner. We were at the Causeway twice during our recent trip, once by way of a Sunday walk and a second time to accommodate a visitor.