10 Nov. 2014
Tara Linehan
GEO 101, Physical Geography
Crystal Caves of Naica, Mexico In 1794, according to crystalink early prospectors of Chihuahua City discovered the Naica mine. At the base of the hills the prospectors struck a vein of silver. During that time, people’s interest was in silver and gold. In the beginning of the 1900s, the Mexican Revolution caused a switch from gold and silver to lead and zinc, which the mine had plenty of. Revolutionary troops started to demand money from the mine owners and when one refused, he was assassinated. This caused the mine to shut down from 1911 through 1922. A year before the mine was shut down, the Cave of Swords was discovered (Crystal, 2011). Giantcrystals website states that the large sword …show more content…
Shahagun states, “the Delgado brothers, like their fellow miners, were accustomed to finding cavities of 1-16 feet, filled with crystals that would later become the prize of collectors and museums worldwide. After enlarging the opening, Eloy, with some difficulty, climbed through the small entrance and soon realized that this cave was larger than usual. He was standing in a 24-foot room completely filled with white crystalline gypsum specimens of enormous size” (Shahagun). Cystalinks states that they found a cavern filled with natural treasures and quickly rerouted all the tunnels towards these gypsum crystals (Crystal, 2011). They kept working and several days later an even bigger cave was found. Sott article states that this area would be known as the “Sistine Chapel” of crystals. The area contains the largest natural crystals ever to be seen by humans. The translucent gypsum beams measure up to 40 feet in length and 6 feet in width with the weight of 55 tons (Chamberlin, …show more content…
This physical environment has precluded any exploration beyond about 150 feet from the entrance. Thus, the true dimensions of this unbelievable cave, now known as the Crystal Cave, have yet to be determined” (Sabagun, 2001). Some damage was made when they found it because of intruders and even miners trying to remove megacrystals from the excavation (Crystal, 2011). Giantcrystals states that there are many horror stories of humans trying to steal crystals from it. There is one story of a mine worker who tried to steal a crystal and ended up being killed by the heat, low oxygen, and humidity and was found burnt to a crisp days later (Krassman, 2007). The intense heat can prevent brain from functioning causing hallucinations, so you can only be in the cave for the short period of ten minutes and so they built an iron door to preserve the crystals and protect people from the caves environment (Crystal,
Tara Linehan
GEO 101, Physical Geography
Crystal Caves of Naica, Mexico In 1794, according to crystalink early prospectors of Chihuahua City discovered the Naica mine. At the base of the hills the prospectors struck a vein of silver. During that time, people’s interest was in silver and gold. In the beginning of the 1900s, the Mexican Revolution caused a switch from gold and silver to lead and zinc, which the mine had plenty of. Revolutionary troops started to demand money from the mine owners and when one refused, he was assassinated. This caused the mine to shut down from 1911 through 1922. A year before the mine was shut down, the Cave of Swords was discovered (Crystal, 2011). Giantcrystals website states that the large sword …show more content…
Shahagun states, “the Delgado brothers, like their fellow miners, were accustomed to finding cavities of 1-16 feet, filled with crystals that would later become the prize of collectors and museums worldwide. After enlarging the opening, Eloy, with some difficulty, climbed through the small entrance and soon realized that this cave was larger than usual. He was standing in a 24-foot room completely filled with white crystalline gypsum specimens of enormous size” (Shahagun). Cystalinks states that they found a cavern filled with natural treasures and quickly rerouted all the tunnels towards these gypsum crystals (Crystal, 2011). They kept working and several days later an even bigger cave was found. Sott article states that this area would be known as the “Sistine Chapel” of crystals. The area contains the largest natural crystals ever to be seen by humans. The translucent gypsum beams measure up to 40 feet in length and 6 feet in width with the weight of 55 tons (Chamberlin, …show more content…
This physical environment has precluded any exploration beyond about 150 feet from the entrance. Thus, the true dimensions of this unbelievable cave, now known as the Crystal Cave, have yet to be determined” (Sabagun, 2001). Some damage was made when they found it because of intruders and even miners trying to remove megacrystals from the excavation (Crystal, 2011). Giantcrystals states that there are many horror stories of humans trying to steal crystals from it. There is one story of a mine worker who tried to steal a crystal and ended up being killed by the heat, low oxygen, and humidity and was found burnt to a crisp days later (Krassman, 2007). The intense heat can prevent brain from functioning causing hallucinations, so you can only be in the cave for the short period of ten minutes and so they built an iron door to preserve the crystals and protect people from the caves environment (Crystal,