Fingal's Cave
Sea cave on Staffa, famed for acoustics and hexagonal basalt columns.
Last updated
Where it is
Coordinates: 56°26′02″N 6°20′10″W (56.4340, -6.3360) · Open in OpenStreetMap
Coordinates and connected clubs: the infobox of Wikipedia: Fingal's Cave (CC BY-SA 4.0). Map: drawn by Codexery from OpenStreetMap tiles.
The cave is formed entirely from hexagonally jointed columnar basalt within a Paleocene lava flow.[1] Part of a national nature reserve, this cave is owned by the National Trust for Scotland.[2]
Last updated 2026-10-05 from the source article.
Geography and history
In Irish mythology, the hero Fingal is known as Fionn mac Cumhaill.[3] Cooling on the upper and lower surfaces of solidified lava resulted in contraction and fracturing, forming the hexagonal columns.[4] Until 1777, the cave belonged to the Clan MacQuarrie's Ulva estate.[5] Mud that loses water through desiccation can crack into hexagonal patterns similar to those seen in the cave's basalt.[6]
What the cited sources add
The National Trust for Scotland account states that years of waves crashing against the columns created Fingal's Cave.[7] The Internet Guide to Scotland describes entering the cave by a narrow ledge of columns leading into darkness.[8] The same source notes that from inside the cave, Iona appears in a direct line through the arched mouth.[8] The Show Caves of the World account lists the cave's classification as a sea cave in Tertiary basalt.[9]
References
- Wikipedia, "Fingal's Cave" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bell, B.R. and Jolley, D.W. (1997) "Application of palynological data to the chronology of the Palaeogene lava fields of the British Province: implications for (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Fingal's Cave" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "National Trust for Scotland: Staffa National Nature Reserve", National Trust for Scotland (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Fingal's Cave" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Behind the Name: View Name: Fingal; "Notes to the First Edition", Sundown.pair.com; "Formation of basalt columns / pseudocrystals", Giantcrystals.strahlen.org (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Fingal's Cave" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Atilla Aydin and James M. Degraff (1988) "Evolution of Polygonal Fracture Patterns in Lava Flows," Science 29 January 1988: 239 (4839), 471–476. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Fingal's Cave" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 124; "Show Caves of the World", Showcaves.com; "Caves and Caving in the UK", www.sat.dundee.ac.uk (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Fingal's Cave" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lucas Goehring, L. Mahadevan, and Stephen W. Morris (2009) "Nonequilibrium scale selection mechanism for columnar jointing". PNAS 2009 106 (2) 387–392 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "National Trust for Scotland: Staffa National Nature Reserve", National Trust for Scotland. facts only, no text reused. nts.org.uk
- Staffa (Fingal's Cave) and the Treshnish Islands The Internet Guide to Scotland. facts only, no text reused. scotland-inverness.co.uk
- "Show Caves of the World", Showcaves.com. facts only, no text reused. showcaves.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Fingal's Cave (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Caves & Gorges
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Fingal's Cave (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced