Fortress of Solitude discovered!

[NoMope Greg]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1081072/Pictured-The-Cave-Crystals-discovered-1-000ft-Mexican-desert.html

[Carlwalski]

Thanks for sharing, it's like something out of a Superman flick...........


It'd be one of many things like this us humans have yet to discover on our very own planet. 

[dutch]

   that looks so surealistic.  thanks for posting 

['Cuda Hunter]

I heard that they are actually going to refill the cave with water.  To put it back to where it was before the mining started to drain it. 

[heminut]

I've read up on that cave and it's amazing, not only due to the size of the crystals, but the environment itself is amazing. I've been caving for over 20 years and have never seen anything like what's in those pictures! I've been in caves with very high humidity and temps in the 50's and at first it feels cold, but after a short time of exploring I'm sweating like I was in a sauna. I can't even imagine what it feels like in that cave. It will be a shame when they let the cave flood again, but that is it's natural state. The only reason it's dry right now is because the mining company has to keep the water level pumped down for their operations. When the mining is done there will be no reason to keep it pumped out. At least they are studying and documenting the cave as much as they can while they can.

['Cuda Hunter]

Supposedly there is supposed to be many more miles of unexplored caverns in that cave. 
  Heminut, Have you ever been out here to Colorado and explored any of our thousands of caves.  We have got some absolutely fabulous caves out here. Including the cavern of gold.  Which noone has ever found the end.  It's up about 12000 feet.  Supposedly the spanish forced indians in the cave to bring back gold many years ago.  This is supposed to be the most dangerous cavern in America. 

[heminut]

No, I've never got to do any caving in Colorado, mostly in New Mexico and Arizona, and a little in Missouri. Never heard of the cavern of gold, but it sounds interesting I'll have to see if I can find anything on the 'net on it. I've slowed down a lot on my caving, I'm 54 now and after breaking a BUNCH of ribs in a motorcycle accident a couple of years ago I don't hold up to the crawling and squirming around as well as I used to!

[Pistol Gripper]

I saw a very good show about this on the Discovery / History channel.  Huge gypsum crystals.  They need to reflood the cave so they can go back to growing.

P.G.

[ViperMan]

Is this crystal like you get at jewelery stores?  Just wondering if it's valuable - not that I'd try going to take any of it!

It's definitely an amazing sight.

Jeff

[ChallengerGary]

   Simply Amazing!

['Cuda Hunter]

They don't really have much value.  You can purchase gypsum crystals at most rock shops.  gypsum is one of the main ingredients in making drywall.  Here in Colorado there is a whole valley that is close to 100 miles around that is named gypsum as all of the soil is pure gypsum.  I know of several localaties to pick up your own gypsum crystals.   So basically, no, not valuable, unless you are a collector of crystals or you have a drywall making company. 

[ViperMan]

Gotcha.  I actually know a bit about gypsum, as synthetic gypsum is a byproduct of the chemical process we'll be using to clean the soot from the power plant exhaust.  We'll be generating 20 dump-truck loads an hour, 24 hours a day - when the process is at peak output.  Not all the time.

Jeff

[Pistol Gripper]

The crystals in the cave would only be valuable in so far as they are the laggest natural crystals in existance.  Other than that, just drywall makins.

P.G.

[Moparal]

They need to stay uncovered. The USS enterprise Star trek  ship needs those dilithium crystals to go warp speeds.

[71bigblock]

Crazy.  Put a lazer light show in down there, you'd get epileptic.