Cueva de los Cristales, Mexico

Located in the Mexican town of Naica, Cueva de los cristales is a single complex with old mines. This unique cave features huge selenite crystals; the biggest among them weights 55 tons. The cave has unique climatic conditions, as the temperature in it is about +58C, while the humidity rarely drops below 90%.

Specially trained people in dedicated gear may stay in a cave no more than 20 minutes, which significantly complicates exploration. The cave was accidentally discovered while mining in 1910 and was originally called ‘The Cave of Swords’, as long crystals in moonlight resembled giant swords. Later explorers found out that the cave is relatively young, as its age is about 500 thousand years. The cave has formed in old crust fracture, where magmatic activity still continues even these days.

Heated groundwater eventually soaked with minerals and due to constant high temperatures formed crystals; some of them are more than 10 meters long. Opening in 1910 had been only the first step in the study of unique caves. In 2000, during expansion of mines, a second room of the cave has been discovered. Nine years later, a third one was discovered. The study of natural phenomena still continues in extreme conditions. Entrance to the amazing Crystal Cave is closed for ordinary people. Next - Derweze