Latest news with #basaltcolumns
Irish Times
28-05-2025
- General
- Irish Times
Giant's Causeway visitors causing damage to ancient landscape by wedging coins into cracks
Visitors are damaging the Giant's Causeway in Co Antrim by wedging coins into the cracks of the basalt columns, causing the rocks to stain and crumble. The coins rust and expand to three times their original thickness, corroding and fracturing the world heritage site, authorities said on Wednesday. They appealed to the public to end the tradition that has left coins from all over the world embedded in the world-famous landmark. 'We are urging people to stop the practice and to leave no trace so this natural wonder remains special for future generations,' said Cliff Henry, a National Trust nature engagement officer. The causeway's 40,000 near-perfect hexagonal columns drew 648,000 visitors last year, confirming it as one of Northern Ireland's most popular attractions. Legend says the columns were built by the Irish giant Finn McCool as a crossing to confront a Scottish rival, Benandonner. READ MORE But coins from the UK, Europe, the US and elsewhere that are wedged into joints and cracks as tokens of visits are harming the basalt rock aesthetically and physically, according to a British Geological Survey report. 'The coins are rusting and expanding to three times their original thickness, which puts huge pressure on the surrounding rock, causing it to crumble. Unsightly streaks of copper, nickel and iron oxides are also staining the stones where the coins are corroding,' said Mr Henry. 'The coins here also have accelerated corrosion because they are often soaked in saltwater spray and the mixture of metals means they break down faster.' The National Trust, in partnership with Causeway Coast and Glens Heritage Trust, hired stone conservation specialists to remove coins without causing further damage at 10 test locations. The trial was successful and it is hoped all the remaining coins will be removed, costing an estimated £30,000 (€35,700). The Giant's Causeway formed between 50 and 60 million years ago when molten basalt erupted through chalk beds and formed a lake of lava. As this cooled and contracted, cracks propagated across the plateau to form hexagonal stepping stones. Signs are to be erected urging visitors to keep coins in their pockets and not leave a legacy of additional cracks. 'We protect and care for places so people and nature can thrive,' said Mr Henry. Authorities in Paris made a similar appeal after a tradition of leaving padlocks on the Pont des Arts was blamed for a partial collapse in 2014. - Guardian
BBC News
27-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Giant's Causeway visitors urged not to jam coins into rocks
The Giant's Causeway has faced many threats to its survival, from mythical fights between giants to coastal erosion and rising sea levels. Now there's a new first, you don't notice them but as soon as you see one, you start to see them everywhere - hundreds of them, in every fissure and are coins, inserted into the tiny gaps between one of Northern Ireland's most famous and photographed natural resources, the basalt columns of the Giant's Causeway. Like the padlocks left on the Pont des Arts bridge in Paris, people often leave the coins behind for love or like that tradition, the coins are causing problems, and now visitors are being asked to keep their spare change in their Paris, it has been made illegal to attach a padlock after part of the bridge collapsed in the Giant's Causeway, the practice started years ago – but the caretakers for the site, the National Trust, believe it has increased significantly in scale in the last decade or of thousands of tourists and locals visit each year and only a fraction leave behind this unwanted the coins are having a direct impact on the rocks themselves. The worst affected are the basalt columns that make up The Loom – 10 ft high leaning towers of rock. They are a slightly lighter colour than the iconic hexagonal black basalt at the point of the is easy to see at first glance the discolouration caused by the coins - a reddish-brown wash over the Cliff Henry, nature engagement officer with the National Trust, said the rocks are affected on a number of levels."People see others put coins in, so they copycat, they take a coin out of their pocket and they might take a stone off the ground to hammer the coin in, but they might miss and chip the stone itself so that's doing damage." He added: "Once the coin is in there it starts to rust and due to the atmosphere here it rusts at an accelerated level. "The coin then expands and that's putting pressure on the joint near the edge so we have seen on a number of places here that the corners have popped off."And the rusting metal in there is starting to leach. The iron and nickel and copper is leaching out over the rocks and it looks unsightly."He said they're appealing to people to stop inserting the coins before more damage is done to these 60-million-year-old rocks."On a geological timescale, this is very rapid erosion." A report from the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland shed some light on the Kirstin Lemon said: "The advice of the Geological Survey to the National Trust is to see if we can remove as many of those coins as we can."By removing them, it means we're stopping any further physical impact on the site itself. We're also stopping that chemical impact as well."She said she hoped that by removing coins, it would stop others adding more.A specialist stonemason has started the work and has removed about 10% of them so far."He's done some test sites already so we know we can take these coins out without doing damage to the stones themselves," said Dr Henry."We want him to do it - we don't want the general public to do that, we don't want to cause any further damage." Signs will also be put up and visitors are already warned not to insert the coins by tour guides at the Giant's Causeway, like Mark Adams."I think it's a simple thing of wanting to leave something of themselves behind," he said."But if you want to leave something behind, take a photo, put it online, it'll be there forever."Last year, the Giant's Causeway received about 684,000 visits. The numbers are steadily climbing back to their pre-pandemic levels. There were nearly a million visits in 2019. The National Trust said not only is it Northern Ireland's most valuable natural phenomenon, it is important for the economy too."It's an icon for Northern Ireland - if we can't look after this, what's the hope for the rest of the country?," said Dr Henry."We really need to be looking after the causeway as best we can."
Arab News
22-05-2025
- Science
- Arab News
Aseer's nature-sculpted basalt columns tell ancient volcanic tales
RIYADH: Deep within the mountains and plains of Aseer, nature unveils one of its most magnificent geological masterpieces in the form of the region's basalt columns. Meticulously shaped, they stand tall as timeless witnesses, narrating chapters of the province's rich volcanic history. These formations are not just rigid rock structures, but natural sculptures, shaped over millions of years, embodying a harmonious blend of natural beauty and scientific depth. The basalt columns of Aseer are among the most remarkable and rarest geological phenomena in the Kingdom, captivating the attention of visitors and science enthusiasts. Composed of volcanic rock formed from slowly cooled lava flows, these columns have shrunk and cracked over time, creating stunning geometric shapes, often hexagonal, pentagonal, or quadrilateral, with astonishing natural precision. King Saud University Seismic Studies Center director and Saudi Society for Geosciences president Prof. Abdullah Al-Amri shared exciting insights. He highlighted the Aseer region's rich geological formations, which can be found in several captivating locations, including Muhayil Aseer, Jabal Mishrif in Al-Harajah, Qarn Mujal east of Tendha, Wadi Al-Asran, and the coastal area between Al-Qahma and Al-Barak, nestled within the Black Mountain range. Al-Amri noted that these formations have been recognized since ancient times. Renowned geographer Abu Muhammad Al-Hasan Al-Hamdani described them in his book 'Sifat Jazirat Al-Arab' as part of the Sarat Janb range, stretching from the north of Dhahran Al-Janub to the north of Sarat Ubaida, now known as Harrat Al-Sarat. A Cenozoic volcanic field, Harrat Al-Sarat covers around 700 square km and boasts towering mountains like Jabal Ferwa, which rises 3,004 meters above sea level, and Jabal Zalm, standing at 2,575 meters. Saudi Geological Survey spokesperson Tariq Aba Al-Khail elaborated on the fascinating formation of basalt columns. The unique structures arise from thermal contraction when lava cools and solidifies, resulting in vertical cracks at right angles to the cooling surface. While the columns typically appear vertical, they may bend or tilt depending on the cooling conditions. Aba Al-Khail likened the formations to the cracking of clay as it dries, but instead, they occur in igneous rocks, particularly basalt, and can also be found in andesite, trachyte, and rhyolite. He explained that the remarkable formations date back around 30 million years and have been discovered in the southwestern volcanic lava fields, such as Harrat Al-Barak. The phenomenon holds significant scientific value, offering researchers the opportunity to explore ancient volcanic activity in the Arabian Peninsula.
