Entering the Cave of Crystals in Chihuahua Is Like Stepping Into a Magical World Hannah Blackiston - Elsewhere
go to original June 6, 2017

Cave of Crystals "Giant Crystal Cave" (Geology Page)

It looks like something out of a Disney movie, but the Cave of the Crystals in Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico is very real and very beautiful.

The unreachable nature of the cave makes it an even more tempting choice for travelers. The cave was almost discovered in 1910 by miners who were working in the Naica mine, which is still an active mine today. They drilled beneath the mine to discover a cave – named the Cave of Swords.

In 2000, miners in the same region were drilling along the Naica fault line when they discovered a tunnel which lead them to another cave. It was this cave that they named the Cave of the Crystals, or Giant Crystal Cave.

The cave is horse-shoe shaped and made of limestone. The beautiful "crystals" that give it it's name are made from selenite and are some of the largest ever found.

The mining company's pumping operations are currently keeping them clear of water – the caves would naturally be completely submerged. The crystals will deteriorate in the air though, so there is a project in place to visually document them before that happens. One of the biggest crystals found in the cave to date is 12m long, 4m in diameter and weighed 55 tons.

The other aspect making it difficult to capture the beauty of the Cave of the Crystals is the atmosphere inside them. The cave runs incredibly hot, which is how the crystals developed, with temperatures consistently sitting around 58 °C with up to 99 percent humidity. In these conditions, without the correct protection, visitors can only be in the cave for up to ten minutes at a time.

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