Mykines belongs to the oldest part of the Faroe Islands and was formed about 60 million years ago.
 The Faroese basalt is divided into three phases of eruption: the lower and oldest, the middle, and the upper and youngest; the lowest formed by the eruption of low-viscosity lava through long fissures, forming flat volcanoes.
In the sound between Mykines and Mykineshólmur, Holmgjogv, one can see one of the most abundant of such flows on the Faroes, with a depth of about 50 m.  The interspersed layers of softer volcanic tuff between the layers of basalt are differentially eroded, so forming, especially on the steep northern side of the islet, some of the richest bird cliffs in the world.
Mykines belongs to the oldest part of the Faroe Islands and was formed about 60 million years ago.  The Faroese basalt is divided into three phases of eruption: the lower and oldest, the middle, and the upper and youngest; the lowest formed by the eruption of low-viscosity lava through long fissures, forming flat volcanoes. In the sound between Mykines and Mykineshólmur, Holmgjogv, one can see one of the most abundant of such flows on the Faroes, with a depth of about 50 m.  The interspersed layers of softer volcanic tuff between the layers of basalt are differentially eroded, so forming, especially on the steep northern side of the islet, some of the richest bird cliffs in the world.
Mykines, Faroe Islands