Giant Crystals
March 20th, 2007
Am I the only one who thinks that the Naica Mine looks like a warm-weather version of the Fortress of Solitude from the Richard Donner Superman films?
The Naica Mine of Chihuahua, Mexico, is a working mine that is known for its extraordinary crystals. Naica is a lead, zinc and silver mine in which large voids have been found, containing crystals of selenite (gypsum) as large as 4 feet in diameter and 50 feet long. The chamber holding these crystals is known as the Crystal Cave of Giants, and is approximately 1000 feet down in the limestone host rock of the mine. The crystals were formed by hydrothermal fluids emanating from the magma chambers below. The cavern was discovered while the miners were drilling through the Naica fault, which they were worried would flood the mine. The Cave of Swords is another chamber in the Naica Mine, containing similar large crystals.
Seriously, even if you don't care for the comic book allusion, the pictures of the cave are quite spectacular.
[Via Pruned]
