Giant's Causeway

Can you feel the cool water splash. Hear the big blue ocean go whoosh. I am made of many, many stone steps that look like puzzle pieces. My stones have lots of sides, just like a honeycomb. I am a giant staircase made of stone, dipping my toes into the big, blue ocean. I stretch from the green grass all the way into the sea. Children love to hop from one of my stones to the next. They laugh and play all day. I love the sound of their happy feet. I am the Giant's Causeway, in a beautiful green land called Northern Ireland.

A long, long, long time ago, about 60 million years ago, I was made. It was a very fiery time. A super-hot volcano burped up fiery orange lava. The lava was hot like a soup, and it flowed all over. Then, it started to get cool. As it cooled down, very slowly, it began to crack. It cracked into all the special shapes you see today. It was like a big, yummy brownie cooling in a pan and cracking on top. That is how my thousands of stone columns were born. But some people tell a different story. They say a giant named Finn MacCool built me. They say he wanted to build a path to walk all the way to Scotland to meet another giant. Isn't that a fun story to imagine.

Today, I am a place for wonder and play. Children come from all over the world to hop from stone to stone. They pretend they are giants, just like Finn MacCool. Seabirds fly high above me, singing their songs to the ocean. I love feeling the sunshine and the cool sea breeze. On December 1st, 1986, people decided I was so special that I needed to be protected. I became a World Heritage Site, which means everyone will help keep me safe forever. I love watching you explore and wonder. I am here to remind you that our Earth is full of amazing surprises waiting for you to find.