Look at this fantastic caves all over the world, and read more about ice caves in Iceland at MiMY.
The Blue Grotto in Capri, Italy
The icon of Capri is the Blue Grotto. It is a sea cave found on the island’s coast and is a well-known spot for anyone visiting the area. This cave is distinctive because of its bright blue glow from two sources: the cave entrance (a narrow opening where only one rowboat can enter at a time) and a larger hole below the entrance.
Cave of the Crystals in Chihuahua, Mexico
The Cave of Swords, situated immediately above the Cave of the Crystals, was first discovered by miners in 1910. The crystals are much smaller (only 1-2 meters versus a whopping 12 meters!) than in the Cave of the Crystals, and the temperature is cool, which may be why the crystals stopped rising.
On the other hand, the Cave of the Crystals was discovered in 2000 and contains the largest natural crystals of selenite ever found. The largest crystal found here was 4 meters in diameter and 12 meters in length! The mean temperature here is 50-58 degrees Celsius with 90-99 percent humidity, as opposed to the Cave of Swords. This cave is largely unexplored due to this unusually hot temperature. Also, explorers and scientists with the right protective gear can only remain for 30-45 minutes at a time in the cave.
So how did these unbelievable crystals form? Over time, groundwater rich in gypsum started to enter the cavity that is now the Cave of the Crystals, filling the empty space with gypsum. This alone would not do much, but the groundwater stayed at 50 degrees Celsius for 500,000 years thanks to the pool of magma underneath the cave, enabling selenite crystals to develop and expand to gigantic sizes.
Krubera Cave in Abkhazia, Georgia
Krubera cave was discovered in 1960 and, with a depth of over 2196 meters, is the deepest known cave on Earth. The Cave of Krubera is also known as the Cave of Voronja, which in Russian means ‘cave of the crows.’ Speleologists used this name in 1980 because of a number of crows nesting at the entrance of the cave.
Russian speleologists gave the original name, Krubera, in honor of Alexander Kruber, a noted Russian geographer. Relevant update: Krubera Cave has been a near second since the discovery of Veryovkina Cave in the same region of Abkhazia in 2001. Cave Veryovkina has a diameter of 2212 meters and is now the world’s deepest cave.
Fingal’s Cave in Staffa, Scotland
On the uninhabited island of Staffa in Scotland, this unbelievable sea cave is situated. The island is of volcanic origin and is renowned for its distinctive basalt hexagonal columns, the most striking example of which is Fingal’s Cave. The scale, shape, and naturally-arched roof of the cave combine with the waves to produce eerie sounds that intensify the atmosphere of its cathedral.
Eisriesenwelt Ice Cave in Werfen, Austria
The largest of its kind is this natural limestone ice cave, reaching 42 kilometers into the earth and attracting 200,000 visitors per year. Although the cave is huge, only the first kilometer of it is covered with ice and accessible to tourists. The only limestone is the rest of the cave. The cave’s oldest layer of ice dates back 1,000 years!
