Glass Beach at Fort Bragg in California

Glass Beach at Fort Bragg in California

Glass Beach is an unusual beach in MacKerricher State Park near Fort Bragg, California that is abundant in sea glass created from years of dumping garbage by the residents near the coastline. Glass Beach is a unique beach, not because it was made by man, but because of the way nature has reclaimed a garbage dump, and how time and the pounding surf have corrected one of man's mistakes.

Beginning in 1949, the area around Glass Beach became a public dump. Fort Bragg residents threw whatever household garbage they had over the cliffs above and into what is now Glass Beach. They discarded lot of glass, appliances, and even cars. By the early sixties, some attempts were made to control what was dumped, and dumping of any toxic items was banned. Finally in 1967, the North Coast Water Quality Board realized what a mistake it was and closed the area.

Giant Crystal Cave in the Mexican Desert

                                     Giant Crystal Cave in the Mexican Desert

     Nearly 1,000ft below the Chihuahua Desert in Mexico, a gigantic cave was discovered by two brothers drilling in the Naica lead and silver mine in 2007-2008. It was an eerie sight. Obelisks shaped crystals up to 37 feet (11 meter) in length and the equivalent height of six men jutted out from the damp rock walls, and there were hundreds of blade-sharp crystals.

      The giant obelisks are formed from groundwater saturated in calcium sulphate which filtered through the cave system millions of years ago. These water warmed by an intrusion of magma about a mile below, began filtering through the cave system millions of years ago. When, about 600,000 years ago, the magma began to cool, the minerals started to precipitate out of the water, and over the centuries the tiny crystals they formed grew and grew until 1985, when miners unwittingly drained the cave as they lowered the water table with mine pumps.

      Because the crystals resemble giant icicles, the picture suggests it must be very cold inside the Cave of Crystals - but appearances can be deceptive. In fact, the temperature is a sweltering 112F, with a humidity of 90-100 per cent. The cavers had to wear protective suits and carry backpacks of ice-cooled air.

The cave has now been fitted with a heavy steel door to preserve this beautiful wonder for generations to come.