Brent Stephenson / Columnar basalt formations at the 180 metre high Edinburgh Hill. Zodiac full of cruise ship tourists for scale. South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, December.

Brent Stephenson / Columnar basalt formations at the 180 metre high Edinburgh Hill. Zodiac full of cruise ship tourists for scale. South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, December.

Fred Bavendam / Several species of Basslets (Pseudanthias sp) swarming above a Columnar Leaf Coral (Pavona clavus), Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea

Bernard Castelein / Alder buckthorn (Frangula alnus) tree at dawn. Klein Schietveld, Brasschaat, Belgium. April.

Bernard Castelein / Alder buckthorn (Frangula alnus) in grassland at sunrise. Klein Schietveld, Brasschaat, Belgium. August 2019.

Ashley Cooper / Clear water from Dettifoss waterfall mixing with glacial meltwater of River Jokulsa a Fjollum from the Vatnajokull ice sheet. Iceland, September 2010

Kim Taylor / Brimstone butterfly (Gonepteryx rhamni) eggs on Alder Buckthorn (Frangula alnus) leaf. Surrey, England, UK, May. Digitally enhanced.

John Cancalosi / Stromatolite (columnar) fossil, also called microbial carbonates, Torgo River Basin,Yakutia, Saha Republic, Russia, Precambrian.

Colin Monteath/ Hedgehog House / Columnar jointed basalt rock cliff at sunrise, Blackhead Beach, Otago Peninsula, New Zealand

Franco Banfi / Waterfall over columnar basalt rock, Calcada do Gigante, Santa Maria Island, Azores, Portugal, Atlantic Ocean.

Brent Stephenson / Litlanesfoss falling through spectacular columnar basalt, just down stream of Hengifoss, which can be seen in the distance. Hengifoss, East Iceland, Iceland. August.

Brent Stephenson / View looking out past columnar basalt from inside Fingal's Cave. Staffa, Inner Hebrides, Scotland. July.

Scott Leslie / Columnar basalt on coast, Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Canada

Brent Stephenson / Columnar basalt formations at the 180 metre high Edinburgh Hill. Zodiac full of cruise ship tourists for scale. South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, December.

Brent Stephenson / Columnar basalt formations at the 180 metre high Edinburgh Hill. South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, December.

Brent Stephenson / Columnar basalt formations at the 180 metre high Edinburgh Hill. South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, December.

Brent Stephenson / Columnar basalt formations at the 180 metre high Edinburgh Hill. South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, December.

Brent Stephenson / Columnar basalt formations at the 180 metre high Edinburgh Hill. South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, December.

Chris Gomersall / 2020VISION / Columnar basalt on the island of Staffa in the Treshnish Isles, Inner Hebrides, Scotland, UK, July 2011

Chris Gomersall / 2020VISION / Columnar basalt on the island of Staffa in the Treshnish Isles, Inner Hebrides, Scotland, UK, July 2011

Chris Gomersall / 2020VISION / Tourist boat approaching island of Staffa, Inner Hebrides, with columnar basalt in the foreground, Scotland, UK, July 2011

Kevin Schafer / Columnar basalt at sunset, Giant's Causeway, County Antrim, northern Ireland

Kevin Schafer / Columnar basalt at sunset, Giant's Causeway, County Antrim, northern Ireland

Scott Leslie / Columnar basalt, Brier Island, Nova Scotia, Canada

Scott Leslie / Columnar basalt and cobble, Brier Island, Nova Scotia, Canada

Sue Flood / Auks, kittiwakes and guillemots nesting on columnar basalt at Rubini Rock, off Hooker Island, Franz Josef Land, Russian Arctic

Pete Oxford / Columnar Basalt lava formation on St Matthew Island cliffs, Bering Sea, Alaska, USA

Hermann Brehm / Columnar basalt rock formations, Sheepeater Creek, Yellowstone NP, Wyoming, USA

Adrian Davies / Devils Postpile national monument, eastern-California, USA.

Adrian Davies / Devils Postpile national monument, eastern-California, USA.

Adrian Davies / Devils Postpile rock formation, eastern-California, USA.

Tui De Roy / Columnar joining in basalt formation, Smoothwater Bay, Campbell Island, New Zealand

DAVID TIPLING / Columnar basalt rock formations Giants' Causeway County Antrim Northern Ireland

Hermann Brehm / Columnar basalt rock formations. Sheepeaters creek, Yellowstone NP, Wyoming, USA

Tim Fitzharris / Columnar basalt cliff, Devil's Postpile National Monument, California

Scott Leslie / Columnar basalt on coast, Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Canada

Scott Leslie / Columnar basalt on coast, Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Canada

Kevin Schafer / Columnar basalt at sunset, Giant's Causeway, County Antrim, northern Ireland

Kevin Schafer / Columnar basalt rock formations, Iceland

Kevin Schafer / Columnar basalt, Devil's Postpile National Monument, California

Orsolya Haarberg / Litlanesfoss waterfall on the Hengifossa river flowing through columnar basalt formations, Iceland. August, 2008.

Mike Read / Purple hairstreak butterfly (Quercusia quercus) male, nectaring on Alder buckthorn (Frangula alnus) flower, Alners Gorse Reserve, Dorset, England, UK. August.

Graham Eaton / Beach with blocks of columnar basalt of the Whin Sill, Dunstanburgh Castle on headland in background. Craster, Northumberland, UK. December 2019.

Juergen Freund / Columnar basalt rock at Fingal Head, extends underwater to Cook Island. New South Wales, Australia. 2018.

Mike Read / Columnar bassalt, Staffa Island, Treshnish Isles, Inner Hebrides, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, UK, May 2019

Colin Varndell / Alder buckthorn (Frangula alnus) blossom. Dorset, England, UK May.

John Cancalosi / Giant's Causeway, columnar basalt columns, result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption, Northern Ireland, UK, World Heritage site. September 2019.