Yangnam Columnar Joints

Columnar jointing forms when a lava flow cools and contracts into polygonal columns, and almost everywhere in the world those columns stand vertical. On the shore at Yangnam, south of Gyeongju, a group of them lies flat and radiates outward in a fan or flower shape about ten metres across, with others tilted at every angle nearby - the result of the flow cooling against an irregular surface, and unusual enough that the site is a designated natural monument and appears in geology teaching. A wooden boardwalk runs along the shore past the formations with panels explaining them, and the walk from the car park takes about fifteen minutes each way over the rocks and sand. The coast here is open East Sea with fishing villages, and the road north runs to Gyeongju's coastal sites. It is a short, specific visit - the fan is the thing, and it is smaller than photographs suggest.

What you actually see

• The fan formation - basalt columns radiating flat across the shore.
• The tilted groups - other columns at odd angles nearby.
• The shore boardwalk - the walkway past the formations.
• The open coast - East Sea and fishing villages around.

When to go

April to June and September to November. Low tide exposes more of the formations; check before going. Morning light is best on the rock.

Honest expectations

The fan is a few metres across - visitors expecting a Giant's Causeway scale are surprised. It is a fifteen-minute walk each way with no shade. A car helps.

Nearby

Gyeongju's coastal sites and the underwater tomb of King Munmu are up the coast; Ulsan is south.