GIANT'S CAUSEWAY FORMED IN 5.5M YEARS, NOT 13.5M, SCIENTISTS FIND

Scientists have established that the Giant's Causeway in County Antrim formed over 5.5 million years, 8 million years less than previously calculated. Geochronologists discovered the 40,000 distinctive interlocking basalt columns developed approximately 60 million years ago through intense volcanic activity. The research team, led by Dr Simon Tapster at the British Geological Survey, connected the formation process to a globally significant volcanic event. The findings enable scientists to place the Giant's Causeway within a precise global geological context for the first time.

The volcanic activity that created the Northern Irish coastline also produced rock formations across the North Atlantic region. The same event created the giant basalt columns in Fingal's Cave on Staffa in the Scottish Hebrides, which were previously thought to have formed millions of years after the Causeway. Rock formations on the Mourne mountains, the Hebridean isle of Rùm and magmatic activity on Skye can be linked to this volcanic event. The research demonstrates the formation process occurred over a much shorter duration than earlier estimates suggested.

Dr Tapster stated that the team assembled evidence from volcanic rocks across the North Atlantic to reassess the major global volcanic event. The revised timescale provides a new framework for understanding volcanic activity across Northern Ireland. The Giant's Causeway holds designation as a Unesco world heritage site and ranks among the greatest natural wonders of the UK.