Basalt Columns, Bazaltove
An outcrop of basalt columns up to 30 m high beside a flooded quarry; a geological reserve since 1972.
The basalt columns near the village of Bazaltove are an outcrop of solidified volcanic lava whose columns have four to seven faces in cross-section, a thickness of 0.6–1.2 m and a height of 3 to 30 m. The outcrop extends for 180–230 m. Basalt quarrying began here in 1861; in 1927 the quarries employed 400 workers, and in 1929 a narrow-gauge railway was laid to Kostopil. The flooded quarry formed a lake up to 30 m deep. In 1972 an area of 0.8 ha was taken under protection as a geological reserve; the monument reached the final of the “7 Wonders of Ukraine” competition. Sources give different ages for the basalts — from 50 to 700 million years.
The village of Bazaltove, 55 km from Rivne and 20 km from Kostopil; by minibus from the Chaika bus station or ~1 hour by car (rivne.media, 26.07.2024). Admission free, the road is unpaved in places; the descent to the water is steep, there are no hotels or cafés.