Cave of the Crystals or Giant Crystal Cave (Spanish: Cueva de los Cristales) is a cave connected to the Naica Mine 300 metres (980 ft) below the surface in Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico. The main chamber contains giant selenite crystals (gypsum, CaSO4·2 H2O), some of the largest natural crystals ever found.[1]
The cave's largest crystal found to date is 12 m (39 ft) in length, 4 m
(13 ft) in diameter and 55 tons in weight. The cave is extremely hot
with air temperatures reaching up to 58 °C (136 °F)[2] with 90 to 99 percent humidity. The cave is relatively unexplored due to these factors.[3] Without proper protection people can only endure approximately ten minutes of exposure at a time.[4]. A group of scientists known as the Naica Project have been heavily involved in researching these caverns.[5]
Naica lies on an ancient fault and there is an underground magma
chamber below the cave. The magma heated the ground water and it became
saturated with minerals, including large quantities of gypsum. The
hollow space of the cave was filled with this mineral-rich hot water and
remained filled for about 500,000 years. During this time, the
temperature of the water remained very stable at over 50 °C. This
allowed crystals to form and grow to immense sizes.[6]
Thanks to : http://en.wikipedia.org
