# Columnar Basalt **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 28, 2021, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columnar-basalt/945191 "2021-06-28T17:11:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columnar-basalt/945191/1 "2021-06-28T17:11:06Z")
The most famous example of columnar basalt – close-packed hexagonal columns of hardened Lava in a beautiful geometrical arrangement that suggests that some built them – is Giant’s Causeway in ciounty Antrim in Ireland. I’ve seen pictures, but we didn’t get that far north when we visited Ireland many years ago. It became clear to me quite a while back that these were almost certainly examples of frozen Benard Cells in the original roiling lava, fractured into neat hexagonal columns by weathering and temperature cycling. the internet seems to agree. I’ve known about the Irish example, but I’ve seen things that suggest that the formation may be much more widespread. The lion enclosure at Franklin Park Zoo in Boston is built to resemble a columnar basalt structure, so they are either suggesting that these are in equatorial Africa, or else the zoo designers just liked the image too much. There’s a housing development not far from where I live that has the name of the place enclosed in hexagonal basalt columns. so I looked it up. Lo and behold, there are lots of examples, including one right here in Massachusetts (although a pretty long distance from the development). There certainly are examples in Central Africa, so maybe there is a place where lions sleep among the Giant’s columns. > **[List of places with columnar jointed volcanics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_places_with_columnar_jointed_volcanics)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Columnar jointed volcanic rocks exist in many places on Earth. Perhaps the most famous basalt lava flow in the world is the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, in which the vertical joints form polygonal columns and give the impression of having been artificially constructed. > Ikom Columnar Basalt in Cross River State, Nigeria > This may have formed from contractional cooling of basaltic lavas. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columnar-basalt/945191/2 "2021-06-28T18:43:21Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The most famous example of columnar basalt – close-packed hexagonal columns of hardened Lava in a beautiful geometrical arrangement that suggests that some built them – is Giant’s Causeway in ciounty Antrim in Ireland. I’ve seen pictures, but we didn’t get that far north when we visited Ireland many years ago. With due respect to the Irish, I think the most famous example of this kind of geometric structure is [Devil’s Tower in Wyoming](https://journeys.maps.com/geo-joint-the-devils-in-the-details-of-columnar-basalt/); it was even prominently featured in \*[Close Encounters of the Third Kind\*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075860/) (and [_Paul_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1092026/?ref_=adv_li_tt), which is arguably the better movie). These are actually not uncommon structures although because of how prone they are to weathering (as water can enter in between the columns and the freeze, causing them to shear off) they erode relatively quickly compared to other types of igneous intrusions. They are spectacular and eerie-looking geological formations, to be sure. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columnar-basalt/945191/3 "2021-06-28T19:04:08Z")
There are basalt columns around Oregon. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columnar-basalt/945191/4 "2021-06-28T19:07:06Z")
We saw several examples of the basalt columns at Yellowstone when we visited there. They’re very impressive, and even when you know that they’re created by natural phenomenon, one’s brain still insists that they must be man-made. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columnar-basalt/945191/5 "2021-06-28T19:31:49Z")
We visited some on the southern coast of Iceland along the black sand beach. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columnar-basalt/945191/6 "2021-06-28T19:44:53Z")
Devil’s Postpile National Monument is another well-known example. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columnar-basalt/945191/7 "2021-06-28T19:52:48Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > so maybe there is a place where lions sleep among the Giant’s columns. Earworm! 🎵 'Mongst the columns, the basalt columns, the lions sleep tonight… ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columnar-basalt/945191/8 "2021-06-28T19:57:41Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Earworm! > 🎵 'Mongst the columns, the basalt columns, the lions sleep tonight… A Benard Cell… a Benard Cell… a Benard Cell…a Benard Cell… a Benard Cell…a Benard Cell… a Benard Cell…a Benard Cell… a Benard Cell…a Benard Cell… … ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columnar-basalt/945191/9 "2021-06-28T21:59:36Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > With due respect to the Irish, I think the most famous example of this kind of geometric structure is Devil’s Tower in Wyoming I think recognition is partly a cultural thing, but I’ve never heard of Devil’s Tower, Looking at the picture, I don’t think it has anything like the weirdness of the Giants’ Causeway. Just another mountain. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columnar-basalt/945191/10 "2021-06-28T22:16:53Z")
So incredibly cool! Thank you for enlightening me today! So many of the sites look like sorted and stacked the columns, or knocked them over like dominos. My brain created a scene in the picture of the Tasmanian site. The reddish streaks (iron oxide?) made the columns look like a choir of brown-robed medieval monks. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columnar-basalt/945191/11 "2021-06-28T22:24:29Z")
I daresay most non-Irish have never heard of the Giants’ Causeway, either. And Devil’s Tower is perhaps significant in that you can see the extrusion well above ground level, not as “pavement” near the ground. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columnar-basalt/945191/12 "2021-06-28T22:32:17Z")
Yeah, I’ve got one just like it in my living room. ---
**Author:** ![Retzbu\_Tox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/retzbu_tox/32/11829_2.png) [@Retzbu\_Tox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Retzbu_Tox)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columnar-basalt/945191/13 "2021-06-28T22:52:54Z")
Nan Madol is a Micronesian ruined city built of basalt columns. They used the columns like other cultures used stacked logs. There are lots of photos online. My first exposure to it was through Cthulhu mythos stories, and I didn’t realize at first that it is a real place. [![](https://www.nps.gov/common/uploads/place/nri/20180601/places/5AF3C826-1DD8-B71B-0B19E5C7499B3945/5AF3C826-1DD8-B71B-0B19E5C7499B3945.jpg) ](https://www.nps.gov/common/uploads/place/nri/20180601/places/5AF3C826-1DD8-B71B-0B19E5C7499B3945/5AF3C826-1DD8-B71B-0B19E5C7499B3945.jpg) 🎵 'Mongst the columns, the basalt columns, **Cthulhu sleeps** tonight… ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columnar-basalt/945191/14 "2021-06-28T22:57:12Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Yeah, I’ve got one just like it in my living room. I saw what you did there. 🙂 And, to @Northern_Piper, Elmer is referring to _Close Encounters of the Third Kind_, in which Devil’s Tower played a significant role. At least here in the U.S., there were likely a lot of people, at one point, who only really knew of Devil’s Tower from that movie, but CE3K is now 44 years old, and likely doesn’t have the same cultural relevance today. [https://d13ezvd6yrslxm.cloudfront.net/wp/wp-content/images/closeencounters-ship-devilstower.jpg](https://d13ezvd6yrslxm.cloudfront.net/wp/wp-content/images/closeencounters-ship-devilstower.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columnar-basalt/945191/15 "2021-06-28T23:09:32Z")
Here is another, less well-known, site about an hour’s drive from home in the northern Sierra Nevada in CA - [Machado Postpile](https://wildmacro.com/library/scenics/eldorado-national-forest/machado-postpile.html). I have yet to pay this area a visit, altho it will be sometime this hiking season, I hope! ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2021, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columnar-basalt/945191/16 "2021-06-29T19:25:23Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > At least here in the U.S., there were likely a lot of people, at one point, who only really knew of Devil’s Tower from that movie I knew it well, but only from this movie. During my family’s move from WA to IN about 5 years ago, I was hoping for some sightseeing. Devil’s Tower didn’t make the cut, but I found that, if you look north at just the right time when cruising along the nearby interstate, you can see the top of the tower poking up beyond the intervening ridge. It is pretty far distant, 10 - 20 miles maybe, so it’s easy to miss. So I can honestly say I saw it with my own eyes!