Cave of the Crystals
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Cave of the Crystals or Giant Crystal Cave () 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 ...
connected to the
Naica Mine The Naica Mine of the Mexican state of Chihuahua, is a lead, zinc and silver mine. Located in Naica in the municipality of Saucillo, the Naica Mine is owned by Industrias Peñoles, the world's largest silver producer. Caverns discovered dur ...
at a depth of , in
Naica Naica is a town in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is located in the municipality of Saucillo. As of 2010, the town of Naica had a population of 4,938, up from 4,775 in the 2005 INEGI Census. It is a mining town and the location of the r ...
, Chihuahua, Mexico. It takes the form of a chamber within the limestone host rock of the mine, and is about long with a volume of . The chamber contains giant
selenite Selenite may refer to: Substances containing selenium *A selenium-containing anion or ionic compound with the SeO32− anion: **Selenite (ion), anion is a selenium oxoanion with the chemical formula SeO32− ***Selenous acid, the conjugate acid, w ...
crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...
s (
gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywall. ...
, CaSO4), some of the largest natural crystals ever found. The largest is , with a volume of about , and an estimated mass of 12 tonnes. When it was accessible, the cave was extremely hot, with air temperatures reaching up to with 90 to 99 percent humidity. The cave is relatively unexplored because of these factors. Without proper protection, people can only endure approximately ten minutes of exposure at a time. The cave was discovered in April 2000 by brothers Juan and Pedro Sánchez while drilling in the mine. , the mine had reflooded and the cavern filled once more with the water rich in minerals required for the crystals to grow. A group of scientists in the Naica Project have been studying these caverns.


Formation of the crystals

Naica lies on a fault above an underground
magma chamber A magma chamber is a large pool of liquid rock beneath the surface of the Earth. The molten rock, or magma, in such a chamber is less dense than the surrounding country rock, which produces buoyant forces on the magma that tend to drive it upw ...
which is approximately below the cave. The magma heated the
ground water Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated ...
which was saturated with
sulfide Sulfide (British English also sulphide) is an inorganic anion of sulfur with the chemical formula S2− or a compound containing one or more S2− ions. Solutions of sulfide salts are corrosive. ''Sulfide'' also refers to chemical compounds lar ...
ions (S2−). Cool
oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...
ated surface water contacted the mineral-saturated heated water, but the two did not mix because of the difference in their
densities Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek language, Greek letter Rho (letter), rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' ca ...
. The oxygen slowly diffused into the heated water and oxidized the sulfides (S2−) into
sulfate The sulfate or sulphate ion is a polyatomic anion with the empirical formula . Salts, acid derivatives, and peroxides of sulfate are widely used in industry. Sulfates occur widely in everyday life. Sulfates are salts of sulfuric acid and many ar ...
s () that precipitated as
anhydrite Anhydrite, or anhydrous calcium sulfate, is a mineral with the chemical formula CaSO4. It is in the orthorhombic crystal system, with three directions of perfect cleavage parallel to the three planes of symmetry. It is not isomorphous with the ...
(CaSO4). When the overall temperature of the cave started to drop below , the hydrothermal and sedimentary anhydrite crystals dissolved, and gypsum (CaSO4) crystals formed. The hydrated sulfate gypsum
crystallized Crystallization is the process by which solid forms, where the atoms or molecules are highly organized into a structure known as a crystal. Some ways by which crystals form are precipitating from a solution, freezing, or more rarely depos ...
at an extremely slow rate over the course of at least 500,000 years, forming the enormous crystals found today.


Discovery

In 1910, miners discovered a cavern beneath the Naica Mine workings, the Cave of Swords (). It is located at a depth of , above the Cave of the Crystals, and contains spectacular, smaller ( long) crystals. It is speculated that at this level, transition temperatures may have fallen much more rapidly, leading to an end in the growth of the crystals. Giant Crystal Cave was discovered in April 2000 by miners excavating a new tunnel for the Industrias Peñoles mining company located in Naica, Mexico, while drilling through the Naica fault, which they were concerned would flood the mine. The mining complex in Naica contains substantial deposits of
silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
,
zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
and
lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
. The Cave of Crystals is a horseshoe-shaped cavity in
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 ...
. Its floor is covered with perfectly faceted crystalline blocks. Huge crystal beams jut out from both the blocks and the floor. The crystals deteriorate in air, so the Naica Project attempted to visually document the crystals before they deteriorated further. Two other smaller caverns were also discovered in 2000, Queen’s Eye Cave and Candles Cave, and another chamber was found in a drilling project in 2009. The new cave, named Ice Palace, is deep and is not flooded, but its crystal formations are much smaller, with small "cauliflower" formations and fine, threadlike crystals.


Exploration and scientific studies

A scientific team coordinated by Paolo Forti, specialist of cave minerals and crystallographer at the
University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...
(Italy), explored the cave in detail in 2006. To survive and to be able to work in the extreme temperature and humid conditions which prevent prolonged incursion in the crystal chamber, they developed their own refrigerated suits and cold breathing systems (respectively dubbed Tolomea suit and Sinusit respirator). Special caving overalls were fitted with a mattress of refrigerating tubes placed all over the body and connected to a backpack weighing about containing a reservoir filled with cold water and ice. The cooling provided by melting ice was sufficient to provide about half an hour of autonomy. Besides mineralogical and crystallographic studies, biogeochemical and microbial characterization of the gypsum giant crystals were performed. Stein-Erik Lauritzen (
University of Bergen The University of Bergen ( no, Universitetet i Bergen, ) is a research-intensive state university located in Bergen, Norway. As of 2019, the university has over 4,000 employees and 18,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 194 ...
, Norway) performed uranium-thorium dating to determine the maximum age of the giant crystals, about 500,000 years. A team led by A. E. S. Van Driessche directly measured the growth rates of these giant gypsum crystals using present-day water of the Naica. They obtained a growth rate of , which is the slowest directly measured normal growth rate for any crystal growth process. Taking into account this rate, the largest crystals would have taken approximately 1 million years to reach their current size.
Penelope Boston Penelope J. Boston is a speleologist. She is associate director of the National Cave and Karst Research Institute in Carlsbad, New Mexico, and founder and director of the Cave and Karst Studies Program at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Techno ...
(
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (New Mexico Tech and formerly New Mexico School of Mines) is a public university in Socorro, New Mexico. It offers over 30 bachelor of science degrees in technology, the sciences, engineering, man ...
),
speleologist Speleology is the scientific study of caves and other karst features, as well as their make-up, structure, physical properties, history, life forms, and the processes by which they form (speleogenesis) and change over time (speleomorphology). ...
and
geomicrobiologist Geomicrobiology is the scientific field at the intersection of geology and microbiology and is a major subfield of geobiology. It concerns the role of microbes on geological and geochemical processes and effects of minerals and metals to microb ...
specialist of
extremophile An extremophile (from Latin ' meaning "extreme" and Greek ' () meaning "love") is an organism that is able to live (or in some cases thrive) in extreme environments, i.e. environments that make survival challenging such as due to extreme temper ...
organisms, realized sterile sampling of gypsum drillcores by making small boreholes inside large crystals under aseptic conditions. The aim was to detect the possible presence of ancient bacteria encapsulated inside fluid and solid inclusions present in the
calcium sulfate Calcium sulfate (or calcium sulphate) is the inorganic compound with the formula CaSO4 and related hydrates. In the form of γ-anhydrite (the anhydrous form), it is used as a desiccant. One particular hydrate is better known as plaster of Pari ...
matrix from its formation. Solid inclusions mainly consist of
magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...
and iron oxy-hydroxide, but no
organic matter Organic matter, organic material, or natural organic matter refers to the large source of carbon-based compounds found within natural and engineered, terrestrial, and aquatic environments. It is matter composed of organic compounds that have c ...
could be found associated with the solid hydroxides. No DNA from ancient
bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...
could be extracted from the solid inclusions and amplified by PCR. Microbial studies on
fluid inclusions image:Inclumed.gif, 250px, Trapped in a time capsule the same size as the diameter of a human hair, the ore-forming liquid in this inclusion was so hot and contained so much dissolved solids that when it cooled, crystals of halite, sylvite, gypsum, ...
are foreseen to attempt to evidence the presence of ancient micro-organisms in the original fluid solution in which the crystals developed. At the 2017 meeting of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...
, researchers, including Dr. Boston, announced the discovery of bacteria found in inclusions embedded in some of the crystals. Using sterile methods, the researchers were able to extract and reanimate these organisms, which are not closely related to anything in the known genetic databases. Other researches covered the fields of
palynology Palynology is the "study of dust" (from grc-gre, παλύνω, palynō, "strew, sprinkle" and '' -logy'') or of "particles that are strewn". A classic palynologist analyses particulate samples collected from the air, from water, or from deposit ...
(
pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...
study), geochemistry, hydrogeology and the physical conditions prevailing in the Cave of Crystals.


Closure

The cave was featured on the
Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...
program ''Naica: Beyond The Crystal Cave'' in February 2011. Earlier, it was featured on the
History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...
program ''
Life After People ''Life After People'' is a television series on which scientists, mechanical engineers, and other experts speculate about what might become of planet Earth if humanity suddenly disappeared. The featured experts also talk about the impact of hu ...
'', in the episode "Depths of Destruction" of the second season. Additionally, these caves were also featured on the program ''
Angry Planet ''Angry Planet'' is a 39-part television series broadcast around the world featuring the adventures of storm chaser George Kourounis. ''Angry Planet'' is produced by Peter Rowe of Pinewood Films. The series plays on the following networks: * Piv ...
'', in episode 311. Exploration has given credence to the existence of further chambers, but further exploration would have required significant removal of the crystals. As the cave's accessibility is dependent on the mine's water pumps, once mining operations ceased, the caves were allowed to re-flood in October 2015. If the mining company decides to open another entrance, researchers might again enter to continue their work, according to a February 2019 report.Preserving nature’s wonders 13 July 2018
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See also

*


References


External links

*

comprehensive website on the Crystal Caves with geology, history, photos and videos
BBC page on the cave with video




account of a 2009 visit by
George Kourounis George Kourounis (born 22 May 1970), is a Greek-Canadian adventurer and storm chaser who specializes in documenting extreme weather and worldwide natural disasters. He presents the television series ''Angry Planet''. Storm chasing Kourounis has b ...
{{Authority control Caves of Mexico Crystals Landforms of Chihuahua (state) Geology of Mexico Gypsum caves Sulfate minerals