Crystal Cave. How to see giant crystals and get out alive from a unique cave in Mexico. How to get to the cave of giant crystals
Imagine an otherworldly realm where transparent, shimmering crystal pillars glow in the hot and humid darkness. Cueva de los Cristales, or the Cave of the Crystals, is a geologist's dream. Located hundreds of meters underground in Naica, Mexico, the cave resembles nothing more than an alien cathedral, with a roof propped up by huge selenite crystals. How were the crystal caves discovered? 
Located right next to the mining complex, the cave was discovered in 2000 by two miners named Eloy and Javier Delgado. It is located under another, smaller crystal cave, which was discovered in 1910. Other similar caves are nearby: the Ice Palace, the Cave of Swords, the Queen's Eye and the Cave of Candles. They also contain fantastic looking crystals and mineral deposits. 
Like La Cueva, these caves were discovered by local miners. The surrounding region has very high water tables and the owners of the nearby Industrias Peñoles Naica mine had to pump out as much water as possible to gain access to the mine and minerals. The pumping out of the mine also led to the removal of water from the nearby crystal caverns, paving the way for their discovery and scientific research. 
This eerily beautiful crystal cavern houses a deadly environment where the temperature never drops below 58 degrees Celsius and the humidity hovers around 99 percent. Even wearing protective gear, people can only endure dangerous conditions for about ten minutes at a time. As a result, tourism is banned; only scientists have gained access to the cave, with miners acting as guides. 
In early 2017, researchers reported finding dormant microbes inside crystals. They were probably locked inside at least 10,000 and possibly 50,000 years ago. Some of the bacteria living in the cave do not match other known life forms on the planet. 
Although the microbes were dormant, the researchers were able to resuscitate them in the lab to get more information. These "beetles" are called "extremophiles" because they can survive in heat, humidity and chemistry. 
La Cueva de los Cristales is a good example of what some call the "alien environment" on Earth. Scientists know that there are places in the solar system where extremes in temperature, chemistry and humidity may not seem hospitable to life. However, as the Cave of Crystals shows, microbes can survive in extreme environments, such as in desert areas or deep underwater, or even in rocks and minerals. 
If these so-called “extremophiles” can form and thrive on our planet under difficult conditions, then it is likely that microbes can exist on other worlds under similar conditions. These could include Mars or Europa, or perhaps even the very alien cloud environments of Venus or Jupiter. 
There is a fabulous cave in the Mexican desert. There, at a depth of 300 m in Mount Naica in the Chihuahuan desert (Mexico), are the largest natural crystals known to date.
Geologists called this place " Sistine Chapel of Crystals" hinting at its uniqueness... The creator of this masterpiece is nature itself. The cave was accidentally discovered quite recently by miners of a silver-lead mine in 2000.
Naica Mine on Google Earth
Naica Mine on Google Earth
Naica Mine The Naica Cave in Chihuahua, Mexico, is a working lead, zinc and silver mine in which large voids containing huge crystals of selenite have been found. It is located in a semi-desert region of the north of Mexico, 100 km southeast of the city of Chiguagua at an altitude of 1385m on the northern slope.
The treasure cave is owned by Industrias Penoles, which mines silver, lead and zinc here.
The Naica mine was first discovered by explorers in 1794 south of the city of Chihuahua. They found a vein of silver at the base of the hills which the Indians call Naica. In the language of the Tarahumara Indians, it means "shady place". From the opening until 1900, the company's interest was only in silver and gold developments.
In the early 1900s, heavy industry demanded zinc and lead, and these were also mined in the mine. At that time, the mine was a very profitable business. During the Mexican Revolution, revolutionary troops entered the city and demanded money from the owners of the mine.
One of them was killed when he refused to pay and because of this, the mine was closed from 1911 to 1922. In 1910, at a depth of 120m, the first natural cavity was opened - the "Cave of Swords", 87m long, which was completely filled gypsum crystals reaching fantastic sizes of 2 m in length.
The crystals extracted from the cavity quickly dispersed among the mineralogical collections of museums around the world. 90 years later, in April 2000, three more new cavities were discovered at a depth of 290 m, which amazed the researchers with the extraordinary beauty of gypsum formations: the Queen's Eye, the Cave of Sails, and the Glass Cave.
Nobody has seen this yet. And this miracle was discovered in April 2000 by the brothers Juan and Pedro Sanchez, who were drilling a new tunnel. Although Naica miners are used to finding crystals, Juan and Pedro were absolutely amazed by the cave they found. They immediately informed the engineer in charge, Roberto Gonzalez. Gonzalez realized that a real treasure had been discovered and decided to reroute the tunnel. During these events, several crystals were damaged as the miners tried to take pieces of the megacrystals with them.
To protect the find and avoid looting of the crystals, the company promptly installed an iron door. Later, one of the workers ventured through the narrow opening, intending to steal something from the cave. He took with him plastic bags filled with fresh air, but he was unlucky and his strategy did not work. He passed out and was later found completely baked.
In the Cave of Crystals, buried in the Mexican desert at a depth of 300 meters, there are the largest crystals of natural origin - transparent rays up to 15 meters long and 1.2 meters in diameter, each of which weighs at least 55 tons. Crystals formed about 0.5 million years ago from an aqueous solution of minerals.
To study this phenomenon, the researchers took fluid samples from the caves.
Studies have shown that the crystals were formed under water at the point of contact between thermal waters (52°C) saturated with sulfides and cold, oxygen-enriched waters penetrating from the surface. Cold waters, due to the difference in density, without mixing immediately with thermal ones, transferred oxygen and provoked the oxidation of sulfide ions. Under these conditions, over a period of hundreds of thousands of years, crystals of the purest gypsum of unprecedented sizes and shapes were formed.
Plan Cueva de las Espadas
Plan Cueva de las Espadas
Section of the massif in the area of the cave of giant crystals This kind of crystalline gypsum is also called selenite, it is also a "moonstone" used for handicrafts.
Selenite is one of the most beautiful forms of gypsum, a mineral composed of calcium sulfate hydrate, which quite often forms into compact and transparent compounds. Sometimes it appears in the form of giant crystals as in the Naica cave.
Selenite is a gypsum crystal named after the Greek goddess of the moon because of her soft white light. It is believed to have many metaphysical and healing properties. Selenite powder has been used by cosmetologists for thousands of years to enhance natural beauty.
The air temperature in the cave is about 50C, the humidity is over 90%. Without special suits that cool the body and inhaled air, they can withstand no more than 10-15 minutes in such conditions.
During the development of the mine, the water was pumped out, as a result of which access to these unusual caves was opened. The very first studies made it possible to understand that the most unique, unparalleled natural formations, a kind of “mineral wonderland”, have opened up before humanity. But this world of beauty is fraught with mortal danger for researchers. After all, the temperature in the caves is about 50? C and this is with 100% humidity!
According to research project coordinator Tullio Bernabei, when they first visited the cavity, they could not stay in it for more than 10 minutes, since the body cannot withstand such a test.
However, cavers have to remove breathing apparatus to pass through narrow sections. Overcoming even 200 m in the cave was a big problem, as the way was blocked by heaps of crystals, which cannot be destroyed.
Careful documentation and research of every nook and cranny of the cave was carried out. Circumstances forced scientists to hurry. The fact is that after the completion of the development of the field, the company will stop the expensive pumping of water and the cavities will be flooded again to a level of -200 and, as a result, are inaccessible. And all this beauty will again go under the water.
Photographing these unique natural structures is almost impossible to capture the scale of the structures. It is an underground void filled with stunning crystals as tall as pine trees, and in some cases larger in diameter.
Beautiful crystals have formed that reflect gold and silver. Some of the largest are column-shaped, thirty to fifty feet high and three to four feet in diameter. Many of the smaller ones are four to six feet in circumference of incredible geometric shapes, and probably weigh more than ten tons.
Gypsum is a soft mineral. Its hardness on the Mohs scale corresponds to 2. But the megacrystals were so strong that they could withstand the weight of a person.
It is nearly impossible to get clear photographs of the crystals due to the extreme environment of high temperatures and nearly 100 degrees of humidity, causing these structures to be shrouded in steam.
"It's a natural wonder," says Garcia Ruiz, a geologist at the University of Granada in Spain who has studied the natural phenomenon. "There is no other place on the planet where the mineral world shows itself in such beauty...
"In a cave that resembles a huge subway lobby, the crystals reached this size because they were submerged in gypsum-rich water. Volcanic activity that began about 26 million years ago created the mountain and filled it with anhydrite, which is a form of gypsum ... When the magma cooled down and the temperature in the bowels dropped below 58 degrees, the anhydrite began to decompose, enriching the water with calcium molecules, which settled in the caves for millions of years, forming huge selenite gypsum crystals...
The formation process was suspended when drainage work was carried out in this area.
Juan Manuel Garcia Ruiz in the Naica Mine
“If the crystals are again immersed in water, they will continue to grow,” says Garcia Ruiz, “There are no limits for crystals.” Spanish and Mexican crystallographers studied the tiny deposits of liquid trapped in the crystals and conducted laboratory experiments.
They presented a report in the journal Geology stating that the solution from which the crystals formed and grew had to be in a very narrow and stable temperature range, which corresponds to approximately 54 ° C and almost 100% humidity.
In addition, the chamber where the crystals grew did not have communication with the surface, like ordinary caves, so the set of conditions that developed in it did not change for a long time, at least for thousands of years. Their growth was limited only by the size of the cave.
The opening of cavities can be called the beginning of their end - from contact with air, gypsum crystals will eventually become cloudy and collapse. To prevent this, a door was installed at the entrance to the cave, which separates it from the rest of the ventilated shaft.
In 2006, a project was launched, the purpose of which is to protect a unique natural object from destruction.
Exploratory analysis led to believe that there are other interesting caves waiting to be found in the Naica mine complex, located southeast of the city of Chihuahua. If the theory behind the genetic mechanisms of crystal formation is correct, then miners could find a large number of such caves over the next few years.
At school, in chemistry lessons, experiments are made on growing salt crystals, and if it is not a particularly difficult task to grow crystals from copper sulfate and alum, then getting gypsum at home is a more difficult and lengthy process. Nature has no time limit and in its natural "laboratories" it grows amazingly beautiful gypsum crystals that can be seen in caves, for example, in northern Mexico, in a semi-desert region located near the city of Naica. At a depth of 300 meters, in the complex of Naica mines, where silver, zinc and lead are mined, there are world-famous caves in which giant crystals amaze the imagination with their size.
The history of the discovery of the cave of crystals in Mexico
At the end of the eighteenth century, a silver vein was found at the foot of the slopes of the Nike. Of course, Mexican entrepreneurs put mining on stream, and built mines in the bowels of the earth. The development of new tunnels by the silver and lead mining company Industrias Penoles was carried out constantly, and in the spring of 2000, while drilling a new tunnel, the workers of the mine, the Sanchez brothers, stumbled upon a fairy-tale cave, where huge crystals sparkling with silver and gold stretched to dark arches. The picture that appeared before the eyes of the workers was amazing, and they immediately reported to the mine management about their amazing discovery. Several natural objects were damaged in the process of drilling and the management, in order to protect the unique find from plunder, closed the entrance to the cave, amazing in its beauty, with a metal door.
About crystals
Scientists using liquid taken from the caves have established how the crystals grew to such impressive sizes. It turns out that the stable temperature regime, which is facilitated by the magma cavity under the cave, and the mineral-rich water contributes to the transformation of mineral anhydrite into gypsum, more precisely into one of the most beautiful forms of this mineral - selenite, which forms into transparent compounds.
There are no crystals of selenite (gypsum) in the world that would be larger than the crystals in the Nike mine: transparent selenite rays reach fifteen meters in length and up to one and a half meters in diameter. This beauty weighs about 55 tons.
Characteristics of the Cave of Crystals in Mexico
The thermal regime inside the cave has characteristics that are quite tough for a person: the air temperature is kept at around + 50 ° C and this is at a humidity of 90-100%. There is even a tragic case of the death of one worker who tried to steal fragments of crystals, but the air he took into plastic bags was not enough, the worker lost consciousness and was later found dead, with a completely “baked” body in this terrible atmosphere. Therefore, tourists are not allowed to go on excursions to the cave of Giant Crystals for a simple inspection, because a person without protection is life-threatening for more than ten minutes, and speleologists admire giant crystals only in special suits that can withstand high temperature, humidity and hydrogen sulfide content in the air .
Today, several caves are already known in which giant crystals grow: the Cave of Swords, the Cave of Crystals and the Ice Hall, opened in 2009. There is a danger of flooding the caves, and you should not miss the chance to see the unique caves today.
How to get to the cave of giant crystals
Giant Crystal Cave is located in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Airplanes fly to the capital of Chihuahua from Mexico City, Guadalajara and Tampico, and between the city of Chihuahua and the city of Nike, the distance is 128 kilometers, which can be covered by regular buses. Speleologists, geologists and biologists who want to explore beautiful dungeons get to the cave itself either by taxi or by passing cars.
Not so long ago - in 2000 in Mexico in the state of Chihuahua near the city of Nike, the miner brothers Sanchez, Juan and Pedro, while developing a new branch of faces in the existing system of working mines, discovered a unique underground cave in which giant crystals formed at a depth of 300 m.
They are located throughout the entire space of the cave in a chaotic manner and are many hundreds of times superior in beauty and parameters to all known stalactites and stalagmites.
The history of the discovery of the cave dates back to the distant 1794. But then it was not of such value and was used as a mine for the extraction of zinc, silver and lead. Its several halls will be opened much later.
The very first hall of the cave was discovered in 1910; it lies relatively shallow - approximately at a depth of up to 120-150 m. Due to the peculiar appearance of the crystals, this hall was called the “Cave of Swords”. Here their height reached only a meter. Scientists attribute this to the fact that the air temperature in the hall dropped much earlier and thus stopped the subsequent growth of crystals.
At the turn of the new millennium, nature allowed man to once again penetrate one of its unique secrets. Huge 15-meter beautiful selenite crystals, reaching 1.5 meters in diameter, are located throughout the cave. The weight of this miraculous beauty is also impressive - it reaches 55 tons for each crystal.
Almost 90 years later, geologists discovered another hall, this time in the shape of a horseshoe, which was given the name "Cave of Crystals". In 2009, another "room" of this unique cave was found. It was called the "Ice Palace" for the beauty and elegance of crystals. The cave attracts not only professional geologists and speleologists, but also biologists: in the cracks of crystals, ancient bacteria have been preserved in their original form to this day.
Selenite, or moonstone, of which the crystals are composed, is one of the most amazing varieties of gypsum in crystalline form. He received his third name due to the similarity of his white glow with the light emanating from the moon. Selenite is endowed with a variety of healing and philosophical properties. This cave is also called the Sistine Chapel of Crystals. So people want to emphasize the uniqueness of a natural miracle.
Scientists believe that such a miracle of nature could begin to form millions of years ago by the confluence of thermal waters with a temperature of 52 degrees C and cold waters, which include sulfides and oxygen. The fact is that under the cave there is a magma chamber, which heats the water saturated with gypsum rocks.
In addition, the climatic conditions of the cave itself were a favorable background for the formation and growth of crystals. The underground air, extremely saturated with hydrogen sulfide, is warmed up to 50 degrees C, and the humidity exceeds 90%.
To visit the cave safely, it is necessary to wear special equipment that can cool the air and protect the body from overheating. If you go down to this depth of 300 meters without the appropriate equipment, then you can stay there for no more than 15 minutes without harm to health. Therefore, before visiting this miracle of nature, even professional researchers must be instructed and put on special costumes.
After the completion of geological work, the crystal cave can be flooded to preserve the crystals in their original form, since under the influence of air they begin to collapse, and enormous funds are spent on pumping water out of the cave for research and opening it for visiting. But while the Nike Project is working, you can get closer to one of the innermost secrets of mother nature.
Video: Giant Crystal Cave in Mexico
Crystal Cave (Cueva de los Cristales) is a natural formation in the Mexican city of Naica, Chihuahua, lying at a depth of more than 300 meters underground. Its uniqueness is represented by interweaving of huge transparent crystals of selenite (a crystalline variety of gypsum), reaching record sizes. Giant formations for several hundred thousand years were and grew in an underground cavity filled with water. Geologists call this miraculous Mexican miracle the "Sistine Chapel of Crystals", thereby hinting at its beauty and uniqueness.
The Cave of Giant Crystals was accidentally discovered in 2000 by two miner brothers named Sanchez, who were exploring a new drained passage in a silver-lead mine for the Industrias Peñoles mining company. Although the miners Juan and Pedro were accustomed to the most diverse formations, the picture that appeared before their eyes struck with its beauty - when the beam of the lantern illuminated the underground hall, it was repeatedly reflected in different directions, as if everything here was strewn with pieces of a broken mirror. Located at a depth of three hundred meters, the cave contains impressive crystals in its bowels, which, like giant rays, cut the space lengthwise and across, creating a truly fantastic sight. The largest of them reaches 11 meters in length, 4 meters in diameter and 55 tons of weight, which makes it the largest natural crystalline formation ever found on planet Earth. The local crystals are razor-sharp, some of them resemble the mouth of a shark, fancy candles or the huge eyes of a fairy-tale character.
Water is constantly pumped out of the caves, because. in the event of a shutdown of the equipment, the space will be flooded again. Scientists have developed a special program - the Nike project, focused on protecting the natural object from the impact of negative factors. The fact is that crystals degrade in air, so researchers strive to record all the data on a unique geological find as quickly as possible before it collapses.
Selenite crystals began to form in an underground cave about half a million years ago. Favorable conditions for growth were formed by a number of factors - the city of Nike lies on an ancient fault, due to which an underground magma chamber formed in the chamber under the cave. Hot magma heated groundwater, as a result of which they were saturated with minerals, including a large amount of gypsum. Soon, the hollow space of the cave was completely filled with mineral-rich hot water and remained in this state for more than five hundred thousand years. Throughout this time, the temperature of the mineral liquid did not drop below 50 °C, which allowed microscopic selenite crystals to form and grow to incredible sizes. Because of the ideal conditions, they continued to grow until the miners pumped out the groundwater to explore the cave deeper. If crystals are placed in an environment that has been "native" to them for many millennia, they will continue to grow.
The Cave of Giant Crystals is still very hot due to its proximity to a deep underground magma chamber. The air temperature inside the cavity reaches +58 ºС at a humidity of 90-100%. Being in a cave without special protective suits can lead to severe dehydration in 10-15 minutes. Such extreme conditions significantly complicate the process of studying the object by scientists. They are forced to wear cooling suits and a special backpack with a respirator that allows them to breathe cold air. Even with all the equipment, the time spent in the cave should not exceed 30 minutes at a time.
In 1910, the first cave in the Nike mine complex was discovered at a depth of 120 meters, which was called the Cave of Swords. It is filled with transparent light crystals, not exceeding a meter in length. Most likely, the temperature at this depth dropped much earlier, stopping the growth of selenite formations. Crystals from this cave can be seen in many museums around the world. After 90 years, the world learned about the famous Cave of Crystals. It is a horseshoe-shaped depression located inside a limestone rock. The floor of the cave is dotted with transparent blocks, from which a huge 11-meter crystal protrudes. During drilling in 2009, at a depth of 150 meters, another hall was found, called the "Ice Palace". In it, the selenite formations are much smaller than those of its "neighbors", and are covered with thin filamentous outgrowths and small formations resembling "cauliflower".
Selenite is one of the most amazing forms of gypsum and often forms into small, transparent compounds. Only occasionally does it appear as giant crystals, as in the cave of the Nike mine complex. The name of the mineral was in honor of the Greek goddess, the Moon, due to its soft white color. It is assumed that this form of gypsum has many healing and metaphysical properties.
Due to its great scientific and aesthetic importance, the natural wonder in Mexico is under protection, and access to the caves is open only to scientists and researchers. However, the attackers still managed to break the locks several times in order to extract the mineral. Even at the very beginning of its history, when the object was not yet protected by a metal door, many crystals were repeatedly destroyed - some visitors tried to break off a piece as a souvenir, others pursued commercial purposes.
The study of the cave, which has been in a sealed state for so long, allows geologists to explore and analyze unique data that make it possible to see how the earth's crust has gradually developed over many millennia. In addition to geologists, this natural formation is of considerable interest to biologists, since microscopic cavities in crystals can store ancient microorganisms.
In 2011, the Discovery channel prepared a project called Nike. Beyond the Cave of Crystals. The program talked about computer modeling and mathematical processing, which made it possible to suggest the possibility of the existence of other similar caves, but further research could lead to the destruction of crystals.
Once all surrounding ores have been mined, the water pumps will be turned off, causing the caverns to flood again and return to their original state.
