Giant's Causeway cases the horizontal fracture has 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 is primarily determined by the speed at which lava from a volcanic eruption cools. 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
S&S - Sansei Technologies S&S rides and prototypes. The facility was later sold and is currently no longer operating. On August 25, 2006 S&S Power, Inc. announced that Stan Checketts and Gene Mulvihill, both original founding partners of S&S, had formed a group to purchase a controlling interest of S & S. The negotiations took several months. CEO Checketts was to direct the company based on the same principles upon which it was founded; "...to provide the amusement industry with thrilling, high-quality rides the entire family can enjoy." Checketts also announced that the business operations of S&S would remain under the direction of Rich