Scientists have cracked the mystery of the formation of the Cave of Crystals in Mexico, which is buried a thousand feet below Niaca Mountain in the Chihuahuan Desert.
The Cave of Crystals is a horseshoe-shaped cavity in limestone rock about 30 feet wide and 90 feet long. Inside the cave are some of the largest natural crystals, translucent gypsum beams measuring up to 36 feet long and up to 55 tons.
What led to the formation of the crystals?
The crystals were submerged in mineral-rich water at a stable temperature range around 136 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature at which mineral anhydrite dissolved into gypsum, a soft mineral that took the form of the crystals in the cave.
The floor of the cave is covered in crystalline blocks. The huge crystal beams juts out from the blocks as well as the floor. The crystals are admirable and to preserve them mining companies should continue the pumping operations.
Source: nationalgeographicnews
