Amazing crystal/cave photos.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

Cross-posted in the lounge for wider exposure, but I thought y'all would appreciate this. A friend of mine just sent this to me in an e-mail...


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Below are the links to several photos I've stored in a photo vault.

They were taken by a couple who I know from having worked with in the past. The couple - both geophysicists from Mexico - have been at our laboratory over the last few months trying to figure out remediation strategies to remove uranium in drinking water. The area is in a remote part of Mexico. But first, they had to determine the source of the uranium so they started snooping around.

They found a cave.

Inside the cave the temperatures hover around 140 degrees and the humidity is 100%. Conditions are probably not much different from hell itself. Special insulation suits with portable air conditioning units must be worn to insure survival and even then entry time must be limited. Teams must be sent to insure that all who enter leave alive. I'm of the belief that teams are sent in order to drag one or more people out of the area because the temptation is so great to stay. You see, inside the cave they found some crystals.

Some very big crystals.

Have a look.

NOTE: this is NOT a movie set nor have the photos been doctored or altered in any way.

[acmavm]

1. That is freakin' amazing. Thank you.

[wryter2000]

2. Wow

:wow:

Thanks for sharing.

[tridim]

3. Is that Brando in the orange suit?

[NMDemDist2]

4. Holy CHIT!

those are amazing! what type crystal are they?

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

7. Not sure.

I sent back some questions about that. I'll post answers if and when I get them. Looks like a couple of different crystal geometries to me.

[wakeme2008]

5. Those are beautiful

thanks for sharing

:hi:

[mzteris]

6. OMG - that's awesome!

Please post more if you have them. (And more info, too.....)

This planet can still surprise us, eh?

[Mnemosyne]

8. Yikes! They've found Superman's hideout! Just

beautiful yibbehobba, Your friends are very lucky indeed to see this first-hand. I would love to see it myself.

Thanks for sharing.

[electropop]

9. Sorry to be a wet blanket,

but those photos do not look real to me. Perhaps names of the people, type of crystals, a bit about their history might convince me.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

10. I would be very surprised if they were fake.

The source of these photos is a particle physicist who happens to occasionally work with geologists. I'd be very surprised if he was fooled by them.

[flamin lib]

12. I'm with you, electropop. nt

[Beelzebud]

14. It's not fake at all....

Naica Caves were in the news about 1 or 2 years ago.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

19. Yeah...

I've seen the link now. Understandable that the guy who sent this to me wasn't aware of it. He's a physicist, not a geologist. :-)

[Why Syzygy]

11. IF me

I would just want to get neckid with them. Awesome.

[CurtEastPoint]

13. Just search for Naica Crystal Cave...it's real

This is amazing stuff.

[applegrove]

15. Wow!

[Poll_Blind]

16. Genuine. Naica caves, Mexico.

Website

Or Google Naica for more. Or Google Images search "giant crystals"

PB

[electropop]

17. Thanks! OK, I'm buying it.

:-)

[Poll_Blind]

21. I thought they looked fake too. Something about the quality of...

...light on the explorer's cool-suit.

PB

[Cleita]

18. I worked as a cave guide a few months once.

The gift shop sold crystals and other rocks as souveniers. They came from Mexico. I understand the the caves are terribly hot that create these crystals so mining them is really a scorcher.

[Nihil]

23. Mining them?

> I understand the the caves are terribly hot that create these crystals
> so mining them is really a scorcher.

Please tell me that this was some error in translation?
If not, I hope that anyone attempting to "mine" these natural beauties
is scorched beyond repair ...

[eppur_se_muova]

20. These are thoroughly real calcite crystals. Others discovered years ago.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=5995383&mesg_id=5995518

[Desertrose]

22. Awesome selenite!

I knew they could get big but these are astounding!!!! Sure wouldn't want to have to spend much time in the caves though!

But they sure are BEAUTIFUL!

[Hoping4Change]

24. UNBELIEVEABLE. Thanks for posting.

:wow:

[Sequoia]

25. Beautiful.

Looks like fallen beams in a tornado. Doesn't look very easy to walk on.