Crystal Palace
Cavers in Mexico confront extreme conditions and find extraordinary beauty.
岩洞探秘者在墨西哥最严酷的环境中找到了特别的美丽。
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墨西哥沙漠深处发现水晶宫
新浪科技讯 北京时间10月28日消息，据英国《每日邮报》报道，日前，墨西哥矿工在奇瓦瓦沙漠地下深处无意发现了一处洞穴，走进去后别有洞天。这一重大发现没准会成为新的世界奇观。
当你注意到照片中身穿橙色工作服的工人走在上面之前，你很难领会这片地下“水晶森林”的壮观。近日，一对兄弟在墨西哥奇瓦瓦沙漠寻找铅和银时，无意中地下1000英尺(约合305米)深处发现了这个洞穴，看到眼前的一幕，兄弟俩当时惊呆了。
至少有170根发光方尖巨型石柱像缠绕在一起的光柱一样，散落在山洞周围，最大的一根长37.4英尺(约合11米)，直径相当于六个成年男子的身高。岩壁十分潮湿，上面覆盖着如刀片一样锋利的一簇簇晶体，看上去完美无暇。晶体形成于含有硫酸钙的地下水。由于下面一英里处是岩浆，在岩浆的不断加热下，含有硫酸钙的地下水从数百万年前开始渗透整个洞穴。
大约60万年前，地下岩浆开始冷却，矿物质开始从水中沉淀，历经数十万年的岁月洗礼，由矿物质形成的微小晶体变得越来越大，这种情况一直持续到1985年，那一年，矿工用水泵将洞穴中的水抽干，打算将地下水位降低。
由于水晶体看上去就如同巨大的冰柱一样，从这张照片上看，水晶洞内的温度可能非常低，然而，这其实是一种假象。实际上，洞中温度高达112华氏度(约合44摄氏度)，湿度更是达到90%至100%，工人们只好穿着防护服，背着降低体温的装置。
水晶洞深达1000英尺，工人通过矿井需要20分钟才能到达洞口，在这种情况下，即便有人想偷走几根，但也是有心无力，无法实现。其中一块水晶柱上面有深深的刀疤，相信曾有人试图将其搬走，但最终失败了，于是用刀在上面乱砍泄愤。现在，山洞新安装了一扇厚重的铁门，外人根本无法进入，更好地保护这一奇观不会遭到毁损。
The Cave of Crystals discovered 1,000ft below a Mexican desert
Until you notice the orange-suited men clambering around, it's hard to grasp the extraordinary scale of this underground crystal forest. Nearly 1,000 feet below the Chihuahua Desert in Mexico, this cave was discovered by two brothers drilling in the Naica lead and silver mine. It is an eerie sight.
Up to 170 giant, luminous obelisks - the biggest is 37.4 feet long and the equivalent height of six men - jut across the grotto like tangled pillars of light; and the damp rock of their walls is covered with yet more flawless clusters of blade-sharp crystal.
The crystals are formed from groundwater saturated in calcium sulphate which, warmed by an intrusion of magma about a mile below, began filtering through the cave system millions of years ago.
When, about 600,000 years ago, the magma began to cool, the minerals started to precipitate out of the water, and over the centuries the tiny crystals they formed grew and grew until 1985, when miners unwittingly drained the cave as they lowered the water table with mine pumps.
Because the crystals resemble giant icicles, the picture suggests it must be very cold inside the Cave of Crystals - but appearances can be deceptive.
In fact, the temperature is a sweltering 112F, with a humidity of 90-100 per cent, which is why cavers wear protective suits and carry backpacks of ice-cooled air.
Such conditions, and the fact that it takes 20 minutes to drive to its entrance through a twisting mine-shaft, haven't deterred would-be looters - one of the crystals bears a deep scar where someone has tried, and failed, to cut through it.
But the cave has now been fitted with a heavy steel door, the better to preserve this beautiful wonder for generations to come.