Hidden deep beneath the surface of the Earth is one of the greatest natural marvels on the planet: a giant crystal cave with crystals up to 36 feet long and weighing 55 tons. But this scorching cavern could kill humans after just 15 minutes of exposure.
- The giant crystals found in the caves at Naica are softer than a human fingernail.
- The largest crystal found at Naica is 500,000 years old.
- The stunning crystal pillars are made from the same common mineral as drywall – it’s called gypsum.
- The Naica cave‘s deadly heat comes from the depths of the Earth. Naica sits on a set of fault lines. A magma chamber a mile and a half down warms the water that flows throughout the mountain.
- The Naica principle cave “Cueva de Los Cristales” is 113°F and 100% humidity.
- The Naica facility pumps 16,000 gallons of water per minute out of the mine and runs 24-7.
- The water pumped from the Naica mine formed a lake in the arid Chihuahua desert and is also used to irrigate a golf course.
- Naica is one of the most productive lead mines in the world, and a huge supplier of the world’s silver as well.
- The Naica cave actuality footage was shot on solid-state memory HD video cameras (tape-less) wrapped in plastic bags and pre-heated for three hours prior to entering the cave.
- The Naica Project team created a stop-motion robot and fitted it with a Nikon digital still camera powered by a custom software to capture beauty-shot sequences of the cave with 10-megapixel resolution.
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