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The Deadliest place on Earth? Surviving The Giant Crystal Cave

133 points by bensummers 17y ago

nitrogen 17y ago
Now I have to wonder if caverns like this can survive a plunge into the mantle, a la The Core.
davidw 17y ago
Amazing pics!!!!!!!!!!
Mark_B 17y ago
My first impulse was "must be fake" so had to go find some more: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/04/photogalleries/giant-crystals-cave/ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/04/photogalleri... WOW!!!
dbz 17y ago
Interesting article. I'm glad there were pictures; however, now I am hooked. It is on my 200 things to do before I die list. I hope I can make it to this one.
- dschobel 17y ago
  Better hurry. It wasn't until 2001 that miners, searching for lead, eventually penetrated the cave wall and brought it to light. The very act of discovering and witnessing them has triggered their slow decay and now no one knows what their fate will be. Once the mine ceases to operate it could be flooded by polluted mine water and abandoned forever, and that's if ambitious mineral sellers don't get to them first and rip them out to sell around the world – a plight of other smaller crystal caves in the area.
- catweasel 17y ago
  If you can't make it to that one you could try Lechuguilla in New Mexico. Also a crystal cave, formed from acid running through limestone, it was featured in David Attenborough's "Planet Earth" series. The prettiest part is the "chandelier ballroom", massive crystals hanging from the ceiling. Access is highly restricted though, you'd probably have to join a queue and go with an official research team. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lechuguilla_Cave http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lechuguilla_Cave
hyperbovine 17y ago
Damn, what an awesome job that guy has. I stare at a screen all day...
defdac 17y ago
It's a bit funny the "gigant" crystal cave resides in the state of Chihuahua.
- huherto 17y ago
  You mean because of the dog? Chihuahua is the largest state in Mexico. A bit bigger than the UK. The copper canyon is also here. If you ever visit us, I'll buy you a beer.
  - whyenot 17y ago
    Yum, you do have some excellent beer.
mnemonicsloth 17y ago
The deadliest place on Earth is probably at the bottom of the ocean. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenger_Deep http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenger_Deep The GCC isn't eligible for that. It has to compete for Deadliest Place in Earth, and by that standard it doesn't rate. The bottom of a back-filled hole in my yard is worse, to say nothing of conditions in the Mantle or the Core.
- ubernostrum 17y ago
  "One of many places, on or in but near the Earth's surface, generally accessible to human beings and constituting areas in which human activity is desirable or profitable, which are significantly more deadly (insert desired measure of "deadliness" and desired deviation from mean) to exposed/unprotected human beings, over short or extended periods of time, than the mean deadliness of such locations considered as a whole." Would that make you happier, little pedant? Or maybe you could've just flagged it and moved the fuck on?
ShardPhoenix 17y ago
I'd seen pictures of this place before, but I didn't know that the conditions were so extreme.

133 points by bensummers 17y ago

nitrogen 17y ago

Now I have to wonder if caverns like this can survive a plunge into the mantle, a la The Core.

davidw 17y ago

Amazing pics!!!!!!!!!!

Mark_B 17y ago

My first impulse was "must be fake" so had to go find some more: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/04/photogalleries/giant-crystals-cave/ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/04/photogalleri... WOW!!!

dbz 17y ago

Interesting article. I'm glad there were pictures; however, now I am hooked. It is on my 200 things to do before I die list. I hope I can make it to this one.

dschobel 17y ago
Better hurry. It wasn't until 2001 that miners, searching for lead, eventually penetrated the cave wall and brought it to light. The very act of discovering and witnessing them has triggered their slow decay and now no one knows what their fate will be. Once the mine ceases to operate it could be flooded by polluted mine water and abandoned forever, and that's if ambitious mineral sellers don't get to them first and rip them out to sell around the world – a plight of other smaller crystal caves in the area.
catweasel 17y ago
If you can't make it to that one you could try Lechuguilla in New Mexico. Also a crystal cave, formed from acid running through limestone, it was featured in David Attenborough's "Planet Earth" series. The prettiest part is the "chandelier ballroom", massive crystals hanging from the ceiling. Access is highly restricted though, you'd probably have to join a queue and go with an official research team. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lechuguilla_Cave http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lechuguilla_Cave

hyperbovine 17y ago

Damn, what an awesome job that guy has. I stare at a screen all day...

defdac 17y ago

It's a bit funny the "gigant" crystal cave resides in the state of Chihuahua.

huherto 17y ago
You mean because of the dog? Chihuahua is the largest state in Mexico. A bit bigger than the UK. The copper canyon is also here. If you ever visit us, I'll buy you a beer.
- whyenot 17y ago
  Yum, you do have some excellent beer.

mnemonicsloth 17y ago

The deadliest place on Earth is probably at the bottom of the ocean. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenger_Deep http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenger_Deep The GCC isn't eligible for that. It has to compete for Deadliest Place in Earth, and by that standard it doesn't rate. The bottom of a back-filled hole in my yard is worse, to say nothing of conditions in the Mantle or the Core.

ubernostrum 17y ago
"One of many places, on or in but near the Earth's surface, generally accessible to human beings and constituting areas in which human activity is desirable or profitable, which are significantly more deadly (insert desired measure of "deadliness" and desired deviation from mean) to exposed/unprotected human beings, over short or extended periods of time, than the mean deadliness of such locations considered as a whole." Would that make you happier, little pedant? Or maybe you could've just flagged it and moved the fuck on?

ShardPhoenix 17y ago

I'd seen pictures of this place before, but I didn't know that the conditions were so extreme.