GeoPicture of the week: Benbulben [Ireland]

The Benbulben (or Ben Bulben) is an absolute delight on the eye. It was formed during the Ice Age, when Ireland was under glaciers, and originally it was just a ridge; however, the action of the glaciers shaped it into what we see today.

Ben Bulben is composed of limestones on top of mudstones, approximately 320 million years old; this makes it a perfect environment for fossils, and indeed, it is just swarming with fossilised sea shells and some corals. It also hosts a unique variety of plants, including some organisms found nowhere else in Ireland.