The world’s largest crystal cave is ‘picturesque’ but deadly dangerous

The crystal cave in Mexico is located at a depth of 300 meters underground, described as “picturesque” but contains many deadly dangerous elements.

The Cave of Crystals is a large cave located at a depth of about 300 m underground, connected to lead, zinc and silver mines in the Naica mining area. the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. It is famous for its huge selenite gypsum crystals, many of the world’s largest crystals have also been discovered here.

Geologists explore the Crystal Cave at the Naica mine in Chihuahua, Mexico. (Photo: Live Science)

Crystal Cave is located on a fault line and 3-5 km deep is a magma chamber. About 26 million years ago, magma rose from this chamber, pushing the mineral-rich water bodies upwards through cracks in the rock.

The hot water creates caves in the limestone and forms layers of crystalline sediment over thousands of years as it gradually cools. After that, the temperature stabilized at about 58 degrees Celsius, creating ideal conditions for the gypsum crystals to grow into gigantic sizes.

Gypsum crystals in the Crystal Cave. (Photo: Live Science)

Mining in Naica began in 1974, and since then, several caves filled with gypsum crystals have been discovered – including The Sword Cave, which is covered with dagger-like crystals from floor to ceiling.

However, Crystal Cave is the largest. The cave is U-shaped, stretching 110 m with a maximum volume of 6,000 m3 – more than twice the size of an Olympic swimming pool. The Crystal Cave was discovered by Naica miners by chance in 2000 while digging a sub-tunnel to help ventilate the mine.

The crystal in the Crystal Cave is more than 11 meters long and weighs up to 55 tons. (Photo: Geology)

When they stepped inside, they discovered that the cave was filled with giant milky white crystals – the largest crystal was more than 11 meters long i 1 m in circumference and weighing up to 55 tons.

These crystals are made up of selenite gypsum – a sulfate mineral formed from salts dissolved in groundwater. The crystal is so soft that it can be scratched with a fingernail.

“It’s the Chapel of the Sistine Chapel made of crystal,” says Juan Manuel García-Ruiz, a geologist with the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) who studied the cave dynamics, described to National Geographic in 2007.

Although the inside of the cave is described as “picturesque”, it is closed to tourists due to many possible adverse factors lethal.

Crystal Cave is an extremely hostile environment to humans. The temperature inside is 58 degrees Celsius and the humidity is between 90 and 99%, making it impossible for people to stay in the cave for more than 10 minutes without protective gear.

Even with protective gear, it is dangerous to walk in the cave because the surface is extremely slippery due to water condensation. Some heavy crystal blocksTens of tons have a structure that is very fragile if impacted.