The Music of Fingal's Cave
On a tiny Scottish island, waves boom and echo inside a cave of black columns, a sound that inspired a famous piece of music.
What was reported
The uninhabited island of Staffa, off the west coast of Scotland, is made of tall, six-sided basalt columns. At its edge is Fingal's Cave, a sea cave about 70 metres deep, its walls and roof formed of columns, its floor the sea.
Visitors since the 18th century have described the eerie, cathedral-like booming and echoing of the waves inside. In 1829, the composer Felix Mendelssohn visited and wrote his Hebrides Overture, often called 'Fingal's Cave', inspired by it. Gaelic legend links the cave to the giant Fionn mac Cumhaill.
Explanations offered
The columns formed from lava that cooled and cracked into regular shapes about 60 million years ago, the same lava field that formed the Giant's Causeway. The cave's arched shape and the sea surging in make it act like a giant echo chamber.
- When
- Made famous in 1772
- Where
- Staffa, Inner Hebrides, Scotland
- Witnesses
- Sailors, visitors and a composer
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.