Cueva de Villa Luz (English: Cave of the Lighted House), also known as Cueva del Azufre and Cueva de las Sardinas, is a

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

near

Tapijulapa Tapijulapa () is a community in the municipality of Tacotalpa, Tabasco. It is a mountain community ninety kilometres from the state capital of Villahermosa, named as a ''Pueblo Mágico In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) re ...

in the southern

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

state of Tabasco. The springs within the cave are rich in

hydrogen sulfide Hydrogen sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless chalcogen-hydride gas, and is poisonous, corrosive, and flammable, with trace amounts in ambient atmosphere having a characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs. The unde ...

, a gas that is a potent respiratory toxicant and smells like rotten eggs. Within the water sulfide is oxidized to colloidal sulfur which gives the water a milky appearance, and creates

sulfuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular formu ...

. The cave is essentially a maze about two kilometers in length and primarily etched out of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

by the sulfuric acid in the water. Hydrogen sulfide is also used by chemoautotrophic bacteria, which form the base of the food web. The cave is a popular tourist destination and visited by many, partly because it is easily accessible. It has been featured on the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

's series '' Planet Earth'', and '' Wonders of the Solar System''.

External links

* Hose L. D., Pisarowicz J. A. (1999
Cueva de Villa Luz, Tabasco, Mexico: reconnaissance study of an active sulfur spring cave and ecosystem
Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 61(1): 13–21.
Cueva de Villa Luz Biological InvestigationsResearch on cave molliesResearch using the Cueva de Villa Luz
Caves of Mexico Limestone caves Wild caves Landforms of Tabasco {{Tabasco-geo-stub