Located in county Clare, the Cliffs of Moher are amongst the most impressive places to see in Ireland. The cliffs consist mainly of beds of Namurian shale and sandstone, with the oldest rocks being found at the bottom of the cliffs. One can see 300 million year old river channels cutting through the base of the cliffs.There are many animals living on the cliffs, most of them birds. The Cliffs of Moher are one of Ireland's top Visitor attractions. The Cliffs are 214m high at the highest point and range for 8 kilometres over the Atlantic Ocean on the western seaboard of County Clare. O'Brien's Tower stands proudly on a headland of the majestic Cliffs. From the Cliffs one can see the Aran Islands, Galway Bay, as well as The Twelve Pins, the Maum Turk Mountains in Connemara and Loop Head to the South. The Cliffs of Moher are home to one of the major colonies of cliff nesting seabirds in Ireland. The area was designated as a Refuge for Fauna in 1988 and as a Special Protection Area for Birds (SPA) under the EU Birds Directive in 1989. Included within the designated site are the cliffs, the cliff-top maritime grassland and heath, and a 200 metre zone of open water, directly in front of the cliffs to protect part of the birds' feeding area. The designation covers 200 hectares and highlights the area's importance for wildlife.
The Cliffs of Moher (Irish: Aillte an Mhothair, lit. cliffs of the ruin, also known as the Cliffs of Mohair) are located in the parish of Liscannor at the south-western edge of the Burren area near Doolin, which is located in County Clare, Ireland. The cliffs rise 120 meters (394 ft) above the Atlantic Ocean at Hag's Head, and reach their maximum height of 214 meters (702 ft) just north of O'Brien's Tower, eight kilometres away. The cliffs boast one of Ireland's most spectacular views. On a clear day the Aran Islands are visible in Galway Bay, as are the valleys and hills of Connemara. O'Brien's Tower is a round stone tower at the approximate midpoint of the cliffs. It was built by Sir Cornelius O'Brien, a descendant of Ireland's High King Brian Boru, in 1835, as an observation tower for the hundreds of tourists that frequented the cliffs even at that date. From atop that watchtower, one can view the Aran Islands and Galway Bay, the Maum Turk Mountains and the Twelve Pins to the north in Connemara, and Loop Head to the south. Moher tower, located at Hag's Head, is a square stone ruin which is believed[who?] to be the remains of a watchtower placed during Napoleon's reign in Europe.
This is a typical Burren landscape, sculpted into limestone pavements which are eroded in a form known as farren, crisscrossed by vertical cracks called grykes. The Irish for Burren is Bhoireann, "a stony place". Rain falling on The Burren pavements pours right through and as it does, the acid rain dissolves the limestone and creates caves and potholes which flood in the winter. Potholers or speliologists flock to The Burren to explore these caves, which can be extremely dangerous for novices. The biggest cave open to the public is Aillwee Cave outside Ballyvaughan, and it is well worth a visit. The visitors centre is beautifully designed to blend with the mountain. The Burren limestones were laid down at the end of the Lower Carboniferous period. For millions of years afterwards sand and mud were washed on top of them and these sediments formed shale and flagstones, which can be best seen at the cliffs of Moher, where they plunge 700 feet to the sea and extend for five miles.Not technically part of the Burren, but close enough to be included. I walked the cliff path from Hag's Head to the cliffs of Moher again last year, with my friends Thérèse and Paul. It was January 2nd, a bitterly cold day which was redeemed by the sunshine and the spectacular views. And by the fact that the visitor center was open at the Cliffs when we got there, serving soup and brown bread. They are staying open all year for the first time this year, another sign of the lengthening tourist season in Ireland.There aren't many birds to be seen at the Cliffs in winter, but come springtime you can see thousands of guillemots, kittiwakes, fulmars and shags. I saw choughs there last summer, and puffins on Goat Island at Easter. The catamaran which sails from Liscannor during the summer does a sunset tour under the Cliffs, which gives you a great vantage point from the sea. Joe Vaughan, who managed the tourist center in O'Brien's Tower for many years and knows more about the cliffs than most people, assures me that the puffins come back every year on April 12 th. Give them a few days grace for the long journey, and for being so spectacular.
