Monday's Telegraph carried this item about a crystal cave that was discovered in Naica in the Chihuahuan Desert of Mexico by two miners excavating a new tunnel for a commercial lead and silver mine.
Known as Mexico's Cueva de los Cristales (Cave of Crystals) it contains some of the world's largest known natural crystals–translucent beams of gypsum as long as 36 feet. The crystals thrived in the cave's extremely rare and stable natural environment. Temperatures hovered consistently around a steamy 136 degrees Fahrenheit (58 degrees Celsius), and the cave was filled with mineral-rich water that drove the crystals' growth.
Modern-day mining operations exposed the natural wonder by pumping water out of the 30-by-90-foot cave, which was found in 2000."There is no other place on the planet," said geologist Juan Manuel García-Ruiz.Where the mineral world reveals itself in such beauty. It's the Sistine Chapel of crystals."
The full story of this amazing cave will appear in the November issue of National Geographic... I think I'll be getting a copy asap.
