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
The Columns (Columbia, Missouri) At the beginning of the academic year, freshmen participate in Tiger Walk to symbolize their move from the wider community to the university by walking through the columns. Tap Day occurs under the columns, when the schools secret societies announce their new members. A mural of James S. Rollins and the Columns is located in the office of the Missouri Governor in the Missouri State Capitol. The Columns are also featured in the Missouri House in a monumental stained-glass window titled "Missouri at Peace". A mural by George Caleb Bingham depicting Academic Hall was destroyed when the same burned. Academic