Giant Crystal Cave Facts
- Perhaps most notably of all, the term Giant Crystal Cave refers to one of the most truly fabulous marvels of Nature founf anywhere on earth. In fact, in many ways, this location currently remains one of the most unique of its kind ever discovered.
- Still more remains to the amazing story, however. That’s because, astoundingly, humans discovered this breathtaking place completely by accident. That fortuitous event occurred in the year 2000, in the eventual course of ongoing mining activities.
- However, the very nature and precise location of the stunning site forever makes this breathtaking creation of geological forces unavailable to the general public at large. That’s because of its extremely close proximity to a nearby magma chamber.
- In this, Nature provided this unique site with a measure of built-in security from the intrusion of man. The very forces that created it continue to protect and preserve it, after a fashion. These make it impossible to visit it without specialized protective gear.
- In fact, the temperature and humidity are so high that the heat index equals 228 F (105 C). It’s a moot point now, however. After a measure of exploration, researchers stopped the pumps keeping water out. It then refilled with water, thus preventing access.
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Giant Crystal Cave Physical Description
The incredible Giant Crystal Cave literally appears like an alien landscape. That’s partly due to the fact that it serves as home to the largest crystals found on earth. Incredibly, some of these behemoths attain a size as great as 34 ft (11 m) long and an estimated weight of 55 tons.
These large crystals have a composition primarily consisting of selenite. This mineral, the nearby magma chamber deposited over the course of countless centuries. These enormous and impressive crystals formed as a result of an extremely special combination of factors.
This process began with greatly heated groundwater being saturated with sulfide ions. Subsequent to this action, significantly colder surface water leaked down and contacted the mineral-saturated hot water. This formed the next step in the process of formation.
However, an extremely surprising thing subsequently occured. That’s because the two supplies of water did not actually mix together. This amazing lack of mixing occurred due to the difference in the relative densities of the two completely separate water supplies.
Due to the combination of these highly unique factors, hydrated sulfates, primarily gypsum, formed at an extremely slow rate over the course of at least 500,000 years. As these painstakingly crystallized, they formed the enormous crystals present in the cave today.
Giant Crystal Cave Location, Condition, and Exploration
The absolutely astounding Giant Crystal Cave formed in a region of the world already renowned for its abundance of natural marvels. That location therefore likely won’t surprise many people. This stunning site formed in the area of Chihuahua, Mexico, in North America.
Being a cave, it obviously lies below the surface of the earth. Yet another fact about the placement of this wonder is its depth. That’s due to the fact that it sits only 1,000 ft (300 m) beneath the surface. Despite that, the masterpiece remained unknown until modern times.
Despite its proximity to the surface, however, due to the extreme conditions within the remarkable cave, researchers still know very little about it. What modern science does currently know about this product of amazing natural processes can be summed up briefly.
The amazing cave formed slowly, and in what approximates a roughly horseshoe shape. It also lies situated within an enormous limestone deposit. Large, faceted crystalline blocks also extensively cover the floor, and the enormous crystalline beams protrude through these.
This creates incredible patterns, serving to enhance its beauty. When man originally discovered the cave, though, water filled the inside. The cave later became accessible only because the nearby mining operation which discovered it kept pumping the water away.
Only authorized researchers had access permits, due to the conditions. Experts made the decision to allow the site to flood again, since exposure to air was beginning to erode the crystals. For now, no plans exist to explore the cave further, to preserve its natural state.
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