Ireland is famous for green rolling hills as far as the eye can see, but not every corner of Ireland is covered with grass and four-leaf clovers. On the west coast of Ireland, in County Clare is a region known as The Burren. Gray limestone covers the landscape with an interesting array of cracks, cliffs, and crevices.
Geologically speaking, The Burren is one of the largest glacio-karst landscapes in Europe. The limestone foundation was originally created from sediments of a tropical sea about 350 million years ago, while the cracks or “grikes” were formed thanks to a little glacial carving about 10,000 years ago.
The Burren, County Clare, Ireland
Photo by: c.b.w. 2009
The Burren extends all the way to the ocean, lending its personality the coastal edge of Ireland. No fences or protective barriers make it possible to stand on the edge of Ireland for a view like no other of Galway Bay and the Atlantic. I put my toe right on that edge and looked down!
The edge of The Burren, Ireland
Photo by: c.b.w. 2009
The Burren’s ocean view
c.b.w. 2009
While limestone dominates The Burren, the green of Ireland still pokes through the cracks, ever resilient.
A little green on The Burren
Photo by: c.b.w. 2009
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Part of the A to Z Challenge!
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c.b.w. 2013
C.B. Wentworth 
Oooh, I can’t wait to watch this alphabet unfold. Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful pictures. It’s almost as good as being there. Okay, not even close, but it will have to do until I can make the trip myself some day!
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I’m having so much fun with this theme! It’s allowing me to dredge up pictures that would otherwise sit on my hard drive. Glad you’re enjoying the tour! 🙂
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Mmmm, Ireland. Need to go there too. My paternal grandmother (who sadly died when I was just a year old) emigrated from Ireland.
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You must go! There is something magical about going to a place of ancestry. My sister and I went to Prague a few years back and I really felt like I was at home (my dad’s side of the family comes from that region).
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Ireland is such a beautiful country, thank you for a wonderful post to share so many interesting parts I wasn’t aware of!! Great post!
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This region really took me by surprise! One minute it’s green rolling hills and the next it’s craggy gray rock!
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Beautiful shots! It’s great to see the Atlantic from the eastern edge.
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Thanks!
After this trip, I could write in my journal, “I’ve now seen the Atlantic from both sides.” 🙂
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Isn’t it funny how even a place so barren and drab has it’s own amazing beauty. So gla dyou are doing the A to Z.
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The challenge has been so much fun! Glad you’re on board, too!
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Oh look – another reason to go back to Ireland – Like I really needed anymore 😉
Lovely Photos
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Thanks!
Ireland wasn’t on my radar until my Grandma wanted to go. Now, I’m so glad I got to see it. What a beautiful and amazing place!! 🙂
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What a beautiful and dramatic landscape! I have never been to Ireland but I really must go someday soon!
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I hope you get there one day! I can only imagine the photographs you would take! They would be spectacular!
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Certainly dramatic! I want to go to Ireland even more now. 🙂
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Well worth the trip! The scenery is beautiful and the people are so kind. 🙂
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How beautiful! I’ll definitely add that to my list of places to go when I finally make it to the UK.
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It’s a bit of a drive, but its definitely worth it for the memory. 🙂
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Great post. and photos. Would love to add it to my list of destinations to visit… now only if I could win the lottery to fund my trips!
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Thanks!
Ah, there’s a fine art to traveling on a budget. I don’t have a lot in my bank account, but I still make it to places all over the world. 🙂
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Wow, these photos are gorgeous!
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Thank you so much! 🙂
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Throughout the Burren, visitors from years ago – maybe passing shepherds – took broken-off pieces of limestone and stuck them into cracks in the karst pavement, as if to say “I was here”. Nowadays tourists do it. There’s a famous dolmen on the Burren (Poulnabrone), and there tourists have placed mini-dolmen all around it.
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I picked up a piece of the Burren, but I wasn’t aware of the tradition. Now I want to comb through the rest of the pictures I took to see I have a shot of that!
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The first photo almost looks like an alien landscape. Great shots, C. B.! 🙂
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I know! I was so surprised when we arrived in the area!
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You are right! Not my impression of Ireland at all. During a 1-hour stop at an airport I only saw rolling hills of green. Would love to visit someday and see ALL of Ireland.
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Ireland is full of surprises, the Burren is just the beginning! 🙂
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Yes! I needed that info! I hope to visit Ireland in the couple of years.
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It’ll be a fantastic trip! 🙂
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It looks like a very mysterious place.
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After hours and hours of green hills, The Burren definitely took me by surprise! 🙂
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What a cool take on a place that is usually photographed very differently! Very cool!
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Thanks! 🙂 I thought it might be interesting to see a different side of Ireland.
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The Burren may be my favorite area of Ireland. I loved looking for the little patches of wildflowers growing in the cracks of the rocks. It is definitely not the typical image of Ireland. Thanks for the memories!
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The little purple flowers were my favorite. 🙂
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