This Is The Largest Crystal Cave In The World

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  via Giphy

  In 1999, a Spanish man accidentally found the world's largest crystal cave inside an abandoned lead mine. The Pulpí Geode is technically the same thing as those apple sized geodes you can typically find at markets and spiritual stores. You know the ones we're talking about: geodes look like a sphere of rock, which appear to have no discernible cracks, but they seamlessly open (once someone has cracked it open) to reveal the crusted, stunning interior that is composed entirely of crystals, most commonly amethyst or quartz. See a picture of a geode here if you're still unsure what it is. 

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  via Geology In

  In other words, the Pulpí Geode is a giant sphere of rock that has an interior of out-of-this-world crystals inside it. It occupies a space of 390 cubic feet, and is 165 feet deep inside an abandoned lead mine. To get inside, you have to descend into deep tunnels, climb a ladder into an inconspicuous hole in the ordinary-looking rocks, and squeeze yourself through a jagged tube barely big enough for one person (so you might consider skipping breakfast the morning before). Trust me, getting there might not be easy but it's absolutely worth it. 

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  via Giphy

  Other than it's sheer size, the Pulpí Geode is noted for having almost perfectly transparent and clear crystals of pure gypsum inside it, with the length of the crystals ranging between 1.6 to 6 feet long. The crystals here, unlike in other large geodes, are so clear that you can see your hand through them. If you know what crystals usually look like, you'll know that it's pretty unusual to be able to see through one. 

  
  

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  via Unique Almeria

  Scientists think that the reason for this purity lies in the way the geode was created. Geodes typically form after water seeps into a rock's surface, transporting minerals into the rock and initiating the growth of crystals - which can continue for millions of years. The crystals inside the Pulpí Geode are made from gypsum, which are a product of water, calcium sulfate and plenty of time. However, unlike other giant crystal caves, the crystals stopped growing tens of thousands of years ago. They were also so pure that they lacked an important ingredient used in ageing crystals, making it much harder to guess the age of the cave. 

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  via Giphy

  After several years of research, the scientists found out that the crystals inside the Pulpí Geode are at least 60,000 years old, which coincides with the timing of the Messinian Salinity Crisis, an event that nearly emptied the Mediterranean Sea and left a mile-high salt field. As the formation of crystals takes a long time, with larger crystals forming through the dissolution of smaller ones, it's safe to say that the Pulpí Geode began it's very earliest stages of forming around 2 million years ago. 

  And the good news is that, thanks to the extensive mapping of researchers and scientists, it's now available for the public to visit. So if you've got a thing for crystals, stepping into a room entirely made up of gigantic, pure crystals might just satisfy your crystal needs for an hour or two. 

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