Naica Mine Mexico, Stores Giant Crystals Cave

 Naica Mine, a Mine in Mexico That Looks Like from Another World

      Have you ever heard of a cave filled with crystals like in a fairy tale movie? This cave filled with sparkling crystals is a real thing. This cave is in Naica Mine.

Naica Mine is actually the name of a crystal mining location located in Chihuahua, the state of Mexico, to be precise in Naica, Saucillo city. There are several ores in Naica, namely, lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), and silver (Ag). All of these mines are operated by Industrias Penoles, which is the largest lead producer in Mexico.

Deep beneath the depths of the mine are hidden caves that are renowned for their crystal beauty, like a cave that holds treasure. This cave is filled with hundreds of giant crystals 12 meters high.

Naica Mine has become a very special tourist destination. The country where Naica Mine is located also has many beautiful natural landscapes.

The Crystal Cave is known as the "Cueva de los Cristales". There were dozens of giant white and purple crystals, which at first glance looked like broken glass. The amazing formation makes this place feel like a place on an alien planet.

This cave produces crystals with a super large size, so it makes you who enter the cave feel like covered in water. These crystals are among the largest crystals in the world. The largest crystal ever found there is 12 meters long, 4 meters in diameter, and weighs up to 55 tons. That's why this cave is also known as the Cave of the Giant Crystals. (jpl.nasa.gov)

The crystal found in the cave under the Naica mine was a type of selenite crystal or gypsum 1.2 m (4 ft) in diameter and up to 15 m in length. It is the largest selenite crystal ever discovered.

Early Discovery of Crystal Cave at Naica Mine

This crystal cave is located 300m below the surface of Naica. It was first discovered during the mining process. At that time, the miners who were mining in the mining area had just discovered the crystal cave. After the discovery, the cave was closed to the public, and became really very closed off after the workers attempted to enter the cave to steal some of the crystals contained in the cave.

However, when they entered the cave to collect crystals, they actually lost their lives due to suffocation due to the conditions and atmosphere of the cave which were very unfriendly.

Naica Mine stands on faults or fractures in the earth that were formed in the past. Under the crystal caverns there is a magma pocket that heats the water, so it contains a lot of minerals, one of which is gypsum. The high mineral content of water there is maintained at a temperature of 50 degrees Celsius for approximately 500,000 years.

This phenomenon is what causes the crystal chunks there can be very large. But because the temperature is very high, it can reach 58 degrees Celsius with a humidity of about 99%, these caves are quite difficult to explore, let alone become a tourist spot. Because, without adequate protection, you can only survive in the cave for no more than ten minutes.

These crystals look like glistening ice that is very cold, but the temperature in this cave is actually very hot, it can reach 60 degrees Celsius with a humidity level of 90-100%. Almost no strong human being there for long.

Tourists still have access to enter this cave, only the number is limited.

Because the temperature in the cave is very hot, tourists who enter this cave must use special clothes. Cave explorers must wear protective suits, protective helmets complete with head lamps, and packs of ice. It took them 20 minutes for these cave explorers to arrive at the entrance of the Cave of the Crystals.