10/8/2023 0 Comments Age of wonders 3 water fortress![]() ![]() ![]() The cave itself was closed off and a large steel door cemented over the entrance. When we arrived, and got out of the van, the heat and humidity of the mine hit us, but this was nothing compared to what lay ahead. It probably took 15 minutes to get to the depth, although it seemed longer. Then, we had to drive down the access tunnels which were big enough for a 15 passenger mini-van to drive down. We had to pass a short Physical exam to ensure we were in good health before they even considered taking us down to the cave. I can’t really describe the sensation of entering the cave. That little guy in the middle of the picture is me standing among some of the crystals. The picture below might give you a small hint at the scale. So massive, some measured more than an meter in diameter and over 10 meters long! The floors and ceilings were lined with crystals that were huge in their own right, but still dwarfed by the large crystals that criss crossed the cave in front of them. However, when they began to pump out this particular cavern, they must have thought they had entered a new dimension, for there before them, lie a cave of wonders. They have pumped out so much water over the course of the mine, that they have created a lake in the middle of the dessert that supports a small town and a small agricultural community. In fact, much of the mine is under the water table, and they have had to pump out the water as they went. During the normal process of blasting rock, they came upon a large cavern that was full of water. Nothing particularly unusual about that, but at a depth of about 300 meters, they found something magical. In the state of Chihuahua in north central Mexico, there is a lead, zinc and silver mine operated by Industrias Peñoles, Mexico’s largest lead producer. And I had the unimaginable privilege of visiting it a few years back. Such a place does exist!!! It’s called Naica. Of course, such a place could only exist in fantasy. Could you imagine standing in a cave made of larger than life Crystals? Beautifully formed, clear sparkling Crystals. (some ‘nerd’ showing here) But probably the most impressive thing for me was Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. As a child, growing up as I did during the golden age of comic books in the later 1950’s and 1960’s, I was deeply fascinated with many of the aspects of the DC and MARVEL worlds. ![]()
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