Antrim

County Antrim is a county in the north-east of Ireland, forming part of Northern Ireland and lying between the city of Belfast and the North Channel separating Ireland from Scotland. The county is dominated by the Antrim Plateau, a high basaltic tableland cut by a series of scenic river valleys known as the Glens of Antrim, which descend dramatically to the sea. The north Antrim coastline contains the Giant's Causeway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising around 40,000 interlocking basalt columns formed by ancient volcanic activity. The county also includes the towns of Ballymena and Ballymoney, and Rathlin Island, the only permanently inhabited offshore island in Northern Ireland.