The Mega Crystals of Naica Mine: Big Pics

[The abyss]

Source: Discoverynews

Nestling up to a cauldron of pressurized, molten rock is almost never a good idea. But in Mexico's Naica mine, the payoff is worth the risk.
About 900 feet below the surface, there is a chamber filled with gypsum. It's the same stuff that goes in the drywall in your house, only in Naica it spent half a million years parboiling in a chamber filled with magma-heated water.
Suddenly miners showed up and started pumping the mineral-rich broth out to get at valuable silver and lead deposits nearby. The result is a cavern filled with crystals 36 feet long and weighing in at up to 55 tons, easily the largest in the world.

Break

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Last Fall, adventurer and filmmaker George Kourounis traveled to Naica to see the incredible “Crystal Cave of Giants” for himself. Though there's little risk of eruption from the nearby magma chamber, the cave itself is still deadly hot – over 120 Fahrenheit with about 90 percent humidity. People are only allowed in without cooling suits for a few minutes at a time.




Read more: http://news.discovery.com/earth/naica-big-pics.html

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Big image files. I didn’t see this in the science section so I will post in LBN. Move if necessary.

[naaman fletcher]

1. cool. thanks for sharing. nt.

[The abyss]

3. You are most welcome!

These stories always amaze.

[Jamastiene]

2. I saw this somewhere a while back. Gorgeous pictures.

K&R

[struggle4progress]

4. Not LBN. Many recent related posts. Here's one in nScience from January:

A rare glimpse of the cave of crystals
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=228&topic_id=61926

[piedmont]

9. Maybe not, but I'm glad she posted it here. nt

[prezpeng]

5. Really interesting

I wonder how Republicans tie this in with their Religious 4000 or 9000 year old existence of Earth ...and the Universe which was created by their Christian God in 7 days...oh 6 days, on the 7th day he rested.

[snagglepuss]

6. Jaw dropping.. Thanks for posting. nt

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

7. Science will tell you otherwise, but this was the home of a strange race of people.

The Druids

No one knows who they were or what they were doing

But their legacy remains

Hewn into the living rock

[Hannah Bell]

8. They look like toy soldiers inside a thunder-egg.

Oregon = thunderegg capital of the world!