Few have ventured inside the Crystal Cave of the Giants, where the largest crystals on Earth jut out in every direction. Discovered by Industrias Peñoles miners in Chihuahua, Mexico, the selenite formations here have diameters of up to 4 feet and can grow to heights of 50 feet. "You look at these masses of crystals pointing at you," says photographer and explorer Richard D. Fisher, "and it's like a nest of swords." Rising steam from lava within the Sierra Madre Fault keeps the cave's temperature at 140 degrees Fahrenheit and the humidity at nearly 100 percent. "Nobody has been to the end of the cave, nor can one see it," says Fisher. "It's too hot to stay in for longer than five minutes at a time, so the magnitude of this discovery is still being assessed." The commercial value is evident: Selenite is the crystalline form of gypsum, commonly used as filler in paper and textiles, plaster of paris, fertilizer, and cement. But the Mexican government has another moneymaking proposition: It plans to charge $100 for admission when it opens the cave to small groups of tourists this fall.
ELECTRIC WORD
Convertible Goop
Patchwerk
Art and Artery
Mother Lode
Algae-Aid
Monomania
