Giant's Causeway in 3D

County Antrim · the Grand Causeway

County Antrim coast, Northern Ireland

The Giant's Causeway is about 40,000 basalt columns, mostly six-sided, formed when lava cooled slowly some 60 million years ago and cracked the way drying mud cracks. Walking from stone to stone you step on the cooling fronts of the lava. In the story, Finn McCool built it to cross to Scotland and fight a rival giant.

Where: County Antrim coast, Northern Ireland
Columns: About 40,000, mostly six-sided
Age: About 60 million years
Tallest: About 12 m
UNESCO World Heritage: 1986

Official site

Walk Giant's Causeway in 3D

A real-time 3D model, built from open elevation data and published measurements. Loads 2.7 MB when you start.

Works in VR on Meta Quest and other WebXR headsets: open this page in the headset's browser, start the 3D walk, then choose View in VR.

Giant's Causeway rendered in real-time 3D

Walk it yourself. Works on this phone.

Part of the Celtic Shores pack: a one-time unlock in this browser.

Terrain from open elevation data · a 3D reconstruction, not a photograph · tags as in the app

Hear the guide

The narrator from the app reads each tour stop. Transcripts below.

Forty thousand columns
Known0:15

Basalt lava cooled slowly here about 60 million years ago and cracked into mostly six-sided columns, the way drying mud cracks. The tallest stand about 12 m.
The giant
Folklore0:15

In the story, Finn McCool built the causeway to cross to Scotland and fight a rival giant. The same basalt does surface again at Staffa, 130 km across the water.
The steps
Known0:11

Each column is a stack of segments with gently curved joints. Walking from stone to stone, you are stepping on the cooling fronts of the lava.

How to visit Giant's Causeway

The Causeway is on the north Antrim coast with a visitor centre and cliff and shore paths down to the stones. The rocks are slippery near the water.

Opening times and tickets change: check the official site. Official site

Open Giant's Causeway in Farstep

The full site on your phone: a narrated guided tour, passport stamps, offline, and smoother graphics than a browser can give.

Narrated guided tour, stop by stop, in nine languages
Passport stamps for every hotspot and finished tour
Works offline once installed
Stonehenge free; other sites are one-time packs. No ads, no subscription.

Open in Farstep

Get it onGoogle Play Download on theApp Store

On iPhone the button opens the App Store.

Giant's Causeway: questions and answers

How was the Giant's Causeway formed?

Lava cooled slowly about 60 million years ago and cracked into some 40,000 columns, mostly six-sided, the way drying mud cracks.

What is the legend of the Giant's Causeway?

Finn McCool built it to cross to Scotland and fight a rival giant. That is the story; the columns are cooled lava.

Can I walk around Giant's Causeway in 3D?

Yes, in your browser. Everything on this page is free to read. Walking Giant's Causeway in 3D is part of the Celtic Shores pack: a one-time purchase with no subscription, and signing in with the same account unlocks it in the Farstep app too.

Can I walk Giant's Causeway in VR?

Yes, on a Meta Quest or another WebXR headset: open this page in the headset's browser, start the 3D walk, then choose View in VR. The left stick walks, the right stick turns and the trigger opens the fact cards.