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
Cave of the Winds (New York) Cave of the Winds (New York) The Cave of the Winds was a natural cave behind Bridal Veil Falls at the Niagara Falls. The cave was some high, wide and in depth. It was discovered in 1834, and originally dubbed Aeolus' Cave, after the Greek god of winds. Guided tours began officially in 1841, through Goat Island and descending down a staircase closer to the falls, into the cave. A rock fall closed the tour in 1920. It officially reopened in 1924, bringing visitors to the front of the Bridal Veil instead of behind it, on a series of decks