Tessellation - in Nature

In Nature

Basaltic lava flows often display columnar jointing as a result of contraction forces causing cracks as the lava cools. The extensive crack networks that develop often produce hexagonal columns of lava. One example of such an array of columns is the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland.

Tessellated pavement a characteristic example of which is found at Eaglehawk Neck on the Tasman Peninsula of Tasmania is a rare sedimentary rock formation where the rock has fractured into rectangular blocks.

Within botany, the term "tessellate" describes a checkered pattern, for example on a flower petal, tree bark, or fruit.