Giant's Causeway giant among giants. He flees back to Scotland in fright, destroying the causeway behind him so that Fionn would be unable to chase him down. Across the sea, there are identical basalt columns (a part of the same ancient lava flow) at Fingal's Cave on the Scottish isle of Staffa, and it is possible that the story was influenced by this. In overall Irish mythology, Fionn mac Cumhaill is not a giant but a hero with supernatural abilities, contrary to what this particular legend may suggest. In "Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry" (1888) it is noted that,
Cave of the Crystals only endure approximately ten minutes of exposure at a time. The cave was discovered by the brothers Eloy and Javier Delgado. It has since been allowed to re-flood, with the cavern now filled once more with the water rich in minerals required for the crystals to grow. A group of scientists known as the "Naica Project" have been heavily involved in researching these caverns. Naica lies on an ancient fault above an underground magma chamber which is approximately below the cave. The magma heated the ground water which was saturated with sulfide ions (S). Cool oxygenated surface water contacted the