Mexico’s Amazing Cave of the Crystals
The Cave of the Crystals looks like something that should be part of a science fiction movie set, the scene of some mysterious planet, but the cave is right here on Earth in Mexico.
The Cave of the Crystals resides 980 feet (299 meters) below the surface in the state of Chihuahua in Northern Mexico. It was discovered in 2000 when two miners working for the Industrias Peñoles mining company in Naica were excavating a new tunnel in the existing silver and lead mine. They found an underground cavern that contained some of the largest crystal structures on Earth. It wasn’t the first time crystals had been found around the mine, but these were much larger than any others ever discovered.
The size of the selenite crystals, which is a variety of the mineral gypsum, is mind-boggling. The largest crystals measure 39 feet (12 meters), about the length of a school bus, and weigh about 55 tons. The cave is small and measures only 30 feet by 89 feet (9 by 27 meters) and is mostly occupied by the huge, translucent crystals that are very soft and can be damaged by just a fingernail.
But even though the site of the crystals is beautiful and wondrous, the cave is very deadly. Cave temperatures can reach 136 degrees Fahrenheit (58 Celsius) with 90–100 percent humidity. This mix can overwhelm a person without the proper equipment. Since the…
