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Cave of the Crystals From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other uses, see Crystal Cave. Cueva de los Cristales (Cave of the Crystals) Cristales cueva de Naica.JPG Gypsum crystals in the Naica cave. Note person for scale Location Naica, Saucillo Municipality, Chihuahua, Mexico Coordinates 27°51′3″N 105°29′47″WCoordinates: 27°51′3″N 105°29′47″W Depth 300 m (980 ft) Length 27 m (89 ft) Discovery 2000 Geology Limestone Hazards High temperature (58 °C) and humidity (~ 99 %) Access Restricted Cave of the Crystals or Giant Crystal Cave (Spanish: Cueva de los Cristales) is a cave connected to the Naica Mine 300 metres (980 ft) below the surface in Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico.

The main chamber contains giant selenite crystals (gypsum, CaSO4·2 H2O), some of the largest natural crystals ever found.[1] The cave's largest crystal found to date is 12 m (39 ft) in length, 4 m (13 ft) in diameter and 55 tons in weight. The cave is extremely hot, with air temperatures reaching up to 58 °C (136 °F)[2] with 90 to 99 percent humidity. The cave is relatively unexplored due to these factors.[3] Without proper protection, people can only endure approximately ten minutes of exposure at a time.[4]

The cave was discovered by the brothers Eloy and Javier Delgado.

A group of scientists known as the Naica Project have been heavily involved in researching these caverns.[5]

Contents [hide] 1 Formation of the crystals 2 Discovery 3 Exploration and scientific studies 4 Future closure 5 References 6 External links Formation of the crystals[edit source] Naica lies on an ancient fault above an underground magma chamber below the cave. The magma heated the ground water which was saturated with sulfide ions (S2−). Cool oxygenated surface water contacted the mineral saturated heated water, but the two did not mix due to the difference in their densities. The oxygen slowly diffused into the heated water and oxidized the sulfides (S2−) into sulfates (SO42−). The hydrated sulfate gypsum crystallized at an extremely slow rate over the course of at least 500,000 years, forming the enormous crystals found today. The key to this process is the slow diffusion of oxygen from the cool, low density surface water into the hot, high density ground water.[6][not in citation given]

Discovery[edit source]

Water-clear selenite crystal "floater" from the Naica Mine. Size: 18×14×13 cm., weight 2.6 kg.

Location of the Swords and Crystal caves with the gypsum crystals within the idealized block diagram of Naica mine In 1910 miners discovered a cavern beneath the Naica mine workings, the Cave of Swords (Spanish: Cueva de las Espadas). It is located at a depth of 120 m, above the Cave of Crystals, and contains spectacular, smaller (1 m long) crystals. It is speculated that at this level, transition temperatures may have fallen much more rapidly, leading to an end in the growth of the crystals.[1]

Giant Crystal Cave was discovered in April 2000 by miners excavating a new tunnel for the Industrias Peñoles mining company located in Naica, Mexico,[7] while drilling through the Naica fault, which they were concerned would flood the mine.[8] The mining complex in Naica contains substantial deposits of silver, zinc and lead.

The Cave of Crystals is a horseshoe-shaped cavity in limestone. Its floor is covered with perfectly faceted crystalline blocks. Huge crystal beams jut out from both the blocks and the floor. The caves are accessible today because the mining company's pumping operations keep them clear of water. If the pumping were stopped, the caves would again be submerged in water. The crystals deteriorate in air, so the Naica Project is attempting to visually document the crystals before they deteriorate further.[9]

Two other smaller caverns were also discovered in 2000, Queen’s Eye Cave and Candles Cave,[9] and a further chamber was found in a drilling project in 2009. The new cave, named Ice Palace, is 150 m deep and is not flooded, but its crystal formations are much smaller, with small "cauliflower" formations and fine, threadlike crystals.

All of the caves discovered currently are: Cave of Crystals, Queen's Eye, Candles Cave, Ice Palace and Cave of Swords.[10] Another discovery in the cave of crystals is that there was "Weird life" found in these trapped in the underground crystals according to a NASA researcher. The creatures live off of Iron, Sulfur and other chemicals that are with in the cave. Regardless of the harsh conditions according to researchers have said that the organisms are still currently active even though they have been there for ten and thousands of years. According to Penelope and her team these micro organisms are genetically distinct from anything on earth, but they have similar to microbes found in caves and volcanic terrain. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Pup shilo (talk • contribs) 01:23, 25 April 2017 (UTC)

Exploration and scientific studies[edit source]

Selenite "sword", 22.6×2.6×1.6 cm. A small version of the giant crystals, likely found in a natural cavity in the mine. A scientific team coordinated by Paolo Forti, specialist of cave minerals and crystallographer at the University of Bologna (Italy) explored the cave in detail in 2006. To survive and to be able to work in the extreme temperature and humid conditions which prevent prolonged incursion in the crystal chamber, they developed their own refrigerated suits and cold breathing systems (respectively dubbed Tolomea suit and Sinusit respirator). Special caving overalls were fitted with a mattress of refrigerating tubes placed all over the body and connected to a backpack weighing about 20 kg (44 lbs) containing a reservoir filled with cold water and ice. The cooling provided by melting ice was sufficient to provide about half an hour of autonomy.

Beside mineralogical and crystallographic studies, biogeochemical and microbial characterization of the gypsum giant crystals were also performed. Stein-Erik Lauritzen (University of Bergen, Norway) performed uranium-thorium dating to determine the maximum age of the giant crystals, about 500,000 years.[11][12][13]

Penelope Boston (New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology), speleologist and geomicrobiologist specialist of extremophile organisms realized sterile sampling of gypsum drillcores by making small boreholes inside large crystals under aseptic conditions. The aim was to detect the possible presence of ancient bacteria encapsulated inside fluid and solid inclusions present the calcium sulfate matrix from its formation.

Solid inclusions mainly consist of magnesium and iron oxy-hydroxide but no organic matter could be found associated with the solid hydroxides. No DNA from ancient bacteria could be extracted from the solid inclusions and amplified by PCR.

Microbial studies on fluid inclusions are foreseen to attempt to evidence the presence of ancient micro-organisms in the original fluid solution in which the crystals developed.

Other researches also cover the fields of palynology (pollen study), geochemistry, hydrogeology and the physical conditions prevailing in the Cave of Crystals.

At the 2017 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), researchers announced the discovery of bacteria found in inclusions embedded in some of the crystals. Using sterile methods, the researchers were able to extract and reanimate these organisms, which are not closely related to anything in the known genetic databases.[14]

Future closure[edit source] The cave was featured on the Discovery Channel program Naica: Beyond The Crystal Cave in February 2011. Exploration has given credence to the existence of further chambers, but further exploration would have required significant removal of the crystals. As the cave's accessibility is dependent on the mine's water pumps, when mineral exploitation is ended in the area it is likely the pumps will be shut off and the cavern's water level allowed to rise again.[5][15]Further explanation of what will happen to the crystals once the water level rises again. More explanation or depth about what can happen to the crystals over time, will they last forever? or will they slowly start falling apart?Pup shilo (talk) 04:26, 6 April 2017 (UTC)

In February 2017, Dr. Penelope Boston reported to the BBC that mining operations had ceased and that the caves have re-flooded.[14]

References[edit source] ^ Jump up to: a b Lovgren, Stefan (2007-04-06). "Giant crystal cave's mystery solved". National Geographic News. Retrieved 2010-10-22. Jump up ^ "Giant Crystal Cave Comes to Light". Retrieved 2010-02-07. Jump up ^ BBC (19 January 2010). "A rare glimpse of the cave of crystals". BBC News. Retrieved 2010-01-19. Jump up ^ Shea, Neil (November 2008). "Crystal palace". National Geographic magazine. Retrieved 2009-06-12. ^ Jump up to: a b "NAICA Project web site". NAICA Project. Retrieved 2010-10-22. Jump up ^ Lovgren, Stefan (6 April 2007). "Giant Crystal Cave's Mystery Solved". National Geographic News. Retrieved 19 February 2017. Jump up ^ "Naica, Mun. de Saucillo, Chihuahua, Mexico". Mindat.org. Retrieved 2014-11-18. Jump up ^ "Cave of the Giant Crystals, Mexico". Chrystalinks.com. Retrieved 2014-11-18. ^ Jump up to: a b Visual rescue at Naica Project Jump up ^ Than, Ker (2010-10-07). "Giant crystal caves yield new "Ice Palace," more". National Geographic News. Retrieved 2010-10-21. Jump up ^ Stein-Erik, Lauritzen; Constantin Silviu; Paolo Forti (2008). Chronology and growth rate of the Naica giant gypsum crystals. 33rd International Geological Congress (IGC). UiB. Jump up ^ Sanna, L.; Stein-Erik Lauritzen; Paolo Forti (2009). Preliminary U/Th dating of gypsum crystals from Naica caves (Mexico). Jump up ^ Sanna, Laura; Paolo Forti; Stein-Erik Lauritzen (2011). "Preliminary U/Th dating and the evolution of gypsum crystals in Naica caves (Mexico)". Acta Carsologica. 40 (1): 17–28. Retrieved 2011-12-31. ^ Jump up to: a b Amos, Jonathan (2017-02-18). "Naica's crystal caves hold long-dormant life". BBC News. Retrieved 2017-02-18. Jump up ^ "NAICA: "Beyond the crystal cave and deadly descent" video reveals worlds beneath the Earth's surface, February 13 on Discovery Channel" (Press release). ctvmedia.com. February 8, 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2011. External links[edit source] Wikimedia Commons has media related to Minerals of Naica.

Wikijunior:Let's Talk about Crystallization in the Naica Mine at Wikibooks

Naica Project, comprehensive website on the Crystal Caves with geology, history, photos and videos BBC page on the cave with video Giant Crystal project Crystal Cave of Giants, account of a 2009 visit by George Kourounis

Sheia, N. (2008, November). Cavern of Crystal Giants. Retrieved April 15, 2017, from http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/11/crystal-giants/shea-text

Yeager, A. (2017, March 08). Microbes survived inside giant cave crystals for up to 50,000 years. Retrieved April 15, 2017, from https://www.sciencenews.org/article/microbes-survived-inside-giant-cave-crystals-50000-years

These two sources will be used to include further information that was not found in the current article and to verify some information to see if it is correct if not we can determine which are true and which need to be corrected. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Pup shilo (talk • contribs) 18:21, 17 April 2017 (UTC)