Slovenia Travel Blog

A paradise of crystal. White between the rocky walls of a cave . Bright like a sun without shade. Resplendent in its structure, which cross the cavity groundwater without any order, aligned to their free will. Grow free, pointed in all directions and flood the space with its magnificence. So Naica Mine. A wonderful site, in operation, located in the town of Naica, in Chihuahua ( Mexico ). The mine produces lead and silver, but what made her famous was his enormous galleries filled with crystals of selenite (scientific name). Glass formation up to 13 meters long and 2 thick that grow incredibly slow speed, equivalent to the thickness of a hair every 100 years, that is, each century.

Grow, grow. Let them their time. The cave was discovered in December 1999 by brothers Javier and Eloy Delgado. Hell over 850 meters deep, the main lead mine concentrates from Mexico and the fourth largest in the world with this mineral. Of all the cameras that make up the mine and which house these wonderful crystals, only one is open to the public. Did not take much imagination to baptize, so they decided to call it: “The Crystal Cave.” The remaining cameras can not be accessed because of the large size of the crystal formations and high temperature. Now recorded 45 degrees Celsius in the Cave of the Crystals and between 80 and 90% humidity. This prevents respiration and is easy to fall unconscious in under ten minutes. This same reason explains why there has been limited research done on site. The scientists devised special suits with oxygen to endure half an hour of work and further exploration and research. A hard task. The temperature can reach up to 59 and 100% humidity and airways.

They were all a decade working on it. Eventually they realized it was best to return the water to the mine. Yes, because originally, the cave was flooded with hot groundwater and of that, thanks to the evaporation of water, was what allowed for millions of years gestate this geological wonder . This also explains why the crystals have very low hardness: the thousands of years have been under water at high temperatures, the slightest contact can break them and even scratching.