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Northern Ireland: The Giant's Causeway
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Jul 2, 2020 14:42:46   #
srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA
 
merrytexan wrote:
that must have been a challenging walk, mark....the shots are beautiful!


It certainly was Merry. We wore hiking shoes but took the shuttle bus back up the hill to save some time. More to come of this beautiful place.

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Jul 2, 2020 14:43:27   #
srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA
 
jaymatt wrote:
How interesting, and first-rate photos, too. Thanks, Mark.


Thanks so much John. I appreciate!

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Jul 2, 2020 14:46:16   #
timm27 Loc: Earth
 
馃憤馃憤馃憤馃憤

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Jul 2, 2020 14:47:36   #
srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA
 
CWGordon wrote:
The photographs are good/well done and a reminder of a great trip last June. We went to England for the Yankees-Red Sox games, but went to Ireland for a week on back end of trip. Mostly in Dublin and Waterford, but drove up to Giants Causeway. County Antrim, etc. is and was beautiful. However, I have to admit I was not thrilled with the Causeway. I did not think the formation was worth the hype we all hear regarding it.


Thanks for your opinion CW. The basalt columns were similar to those we saw in Iceland and I was really impressed with how they met the ocean. The only negative we found was the crowd. I did lots of erasing and cloning in post to eliminate people sitting and climbing on the columns.

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Jul 2, 2020 14:48:07   #
srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA
 
blacks2 wrote:
Beautiful rugged landscape.


Thanks very much Mike. I appreciate!

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Jul 2, 2020 14:49:09   #
srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA
 
Blair Shaw Jr wrote:
Wow....that is a rugged,ancient and impressive coast line . Thanks for the legend behind it.


You鈥檙e most welcome Blair. Thanks for taking the time to read the narrative.

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Jul 2, 2020 14:49:38   #
srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA
 
Earnest Botello wrote:
Very good series, Mark.


Thanks very much Earnest.

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Jul 2, 2020 14:50:23   #
srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA
 
reguli wrote:
Good shots and good class of history


Thanks so very much Jorge.

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Jul 2, 2020 14:51:21   #
srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA
 
Susan yamakawa wrote:
After reading ,your shots didn鈥檛 disappoint 馃憤馃憤鉂o笍


Thank you Susan. I鈥檓 happy that the images did the place justice. More to come.

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Jul 2, 2020 14:51:53   #
srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA
 
water falls wrote:
Beautiful images!


Thanks very much water falls.

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Jul 2, 2020 14:53:00   #
srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA
 
timm27 wrote:
馃憤馃憤馃憤馃憤


Thanks for the thumbs Timm.

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Jul 2, 2020 16:07:40   #
John from gpwmi Loc: Michigan
 
Awesome seascapes and rock formation and you've highlighted them beautifully, Mark.

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Jul 2, 2020 16:31:16   #
gjgallager Loc: North Central CT & Space Coast Florida
 
Awesome photographs, and an awesome description. There are similar 'columns' along the Verde Valley Scenic Railroad west of Sedona, AZ. I had no idea how they were formed. Greg.

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Jul 2, 2020 17:08:00   #
DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area
 
srfmhg wrote:
The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption. It is located in County Antrim on the north coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles (4.8 km) northeast of the town of Bushmills.

It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986 and a national nature reserve in 1987 by the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland. In a 2005 poll of Radio Times readers, the Giant's Causeway was named the fourth greatest natural wonder in the United Kingdom. The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. Most of the columns are hexagonal, although there are also some with four, five, seven or eight sides. The tallest are about 12 metres (39 ft) high, and the solidified lava in the cliffs is 28 metres (92 ft) thick in places.

Around 50 to 60 million years ago, during the Paleocene Epoch, Antrim was subject to intense volcanic activity, when highly fluid molten basalt intruded through chalk beds to form an extensive lava plateau. As the lava cooled, contraction occurred. Horizontal contraction fractured in a similar way to drying mud, with the cracks propagating down as the mass cooled, leaving pillarlike structures, which also fractured horizontally into "biscuits". In many cases, the horizontal fracture resulted in a bottom face that is convex, while the upper face of the lower segment is concave, producing what are called "ball and socket" joints. The size of the columns was primarily determined by the speed at which lava cooled. The extensive fracture network produced the distinctive columns seen today. The basalts were originally part of a great volcanic plateau called the Thulean Plateau, which formed during the Paleocene.

According to legend, the columns are the remains of a causeway built by a giant. The story goes that the Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn MacCool), from the Fenian Cycle of Gaelic mythology, was challenged to a fight by the Scottish giant Benandonner. Fionn accepted the challenge and built the causeway across the North Channel so that the two giants could meet. In one version of the story, Fionn defeats Benandonner. In another, Fionn hides from Benandonner when he realises that his foe is much bigger than he is. Fionn's wife, Oonagh, disguises Fionn as a baby and tucks him in a cradle. When Benandonner sees the size of the 'baby', he reckons that its father, Fionn, must be a giant among giants. He flees back to Scotland in fright, destroying the causeway behind him so that Fionn would be unable to chase him down. Across the sea, there are identical basalt columns (a part of the same ancient lava flow) at Fingal's Cave on the Scottish isle of Staffa, and it is possible that the story was influenced by this.

In overall Irish mythology, Fionn mac Cumhaill is not a giant but a hero with supernatural abilities, contrary to what this particular legend may suggest. In Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry (1888), it is noted that, over time, "the pagan gods of Ireland grew smaller and smaller in the popular imagination, until they turned into the fairies; the pagan heroes grew bigger and bigger, until they turned into the giants". There are no surviving pre-Christian stories about the Giant's Causeway, but it may have originally been associated with the Fomorians (Fomh贸raigh); the Irish name Cloch谩n na bhFomh贸raigh or Cloch谩n na bhFomh贸rach means "stepping stones of the Fomh贸raigh". The Fomh贸raigh are a race of supernatural beings in Irish mythology who were sometimes described as giants and who may have originally been part of a pre-Christian pantheon

Much of the Giant's Causeway and Causeway Coast World Heritage Site is owned and managed by the National Trust, and it is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Northern Ireland.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant's_Causeway

Fortunately it remained dry during our walk down the Giant's causeway and I was able to get these images - not taken through glass for a change. All were taken at f10, 1/250 sec, auto iso. Processed with Luminar 4. Enjoy!
Mark
The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 in... (show quote)


Very interesting and beautiful area and you photographed it well. The narrative is appreciated and I know it takes a significant amount of time.

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Jul 2, 2020 17:35:36   #
srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA
 
John from gpwmi wrote:
Awesome seascapes and rock formation and you've highlighted them beautifully, Mark.


Thanks very much John. I appreciate. Hard to go wrong there

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