This Super Hot Cave Houses The World’s Largest Crystals
Nope, this isn’t a still frame from the next Transformers blockbuster. It’s one of modern times’ most spectacular discoveries.
This cave at the Naica Mine is home to the world’s largest crystals, with some of them stretching to a mammoth 11 metres in length and weighing in at 50 tons.
The selenite mega crystals, which were formed by hydrothermal fluids, criss-cross the cave weaving a beautiful pattern worthy of hours of admiration. Unfortunately due to the cave’s intense heat humans can only remain in there for an hour at a time before meeting their certain end, even while wearing protective gear. Without the gear, it would all be over in mere minutes.
The cave’s temperature is 50ºC, but with humidity clocking in at over 90 percent it actually feels like 105ºC. Balmy. The reason for the intense heat is the mine’s close proximity to a magma chamber, as the cave is 300 metres below the earth – about as deep into the earth as the Eiffel Tower rises above it.
The cave was discovered by accident in the year 2000 when workers of the silver and lead mines in Mexico’s state of Chihuahua broke through the walls, revealing the beautiful underground fantasy land and it’s scorching heat chamber.
Is it now only visited by explorers, scientists and film teams working to discover more about this ancient terrain.
(Lead image: Naica.com)
