The cave of crystals
In the town of Naica, in Chihuahua, Mexico, 300 meters underground, there is a cavity full of giant crystals. They're plaster crystals, some of the largest ever found. Most of them are about 6 meters long and the largest, 11 meters long, 4 meters in diameter and 55 tons in weight.
The cave of crystals was discovered in 2000 by miners of the Naica mine. Abundant in silver, zinc and lead at the Naica mine, this spectacular cavity, 10 meters wide and 90 meters long, was discovered during the opening of a new tunnel. Spectacular and warm. the temperature is above 50°C and there is 100% humidity there.
It's in an old flaw with a magma chamber underneath it. This magma heats up the groundwater in which large amounts of minerals are dissolved. Currently, the cave is not submerged due to the pumping of water due to mining operations. But it's been flooded for 500,000 years. During this time, the temperature of this mineral-saturated water has remained very stable, around 50°C, which has allowed the formation of these giant crystals.
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