HOME |
RSS | 
Photo: Carsten Peter, Speleoresearch & Films
A geological wonder of immense proportions and intense beauty can be found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Mexico… 1000+ feet below the surface. Mentioned on Neatorama before for the photographic wowness, the Cueva de los Cristales - the Giant Crystal Cave – is also one of the most deadly environments on the planet.
For his BBC series How Earth Made Us, filmmaker Paul Williams discovered firsthand the scorching heat and toxic setting that has kept humans away from the crystal phenomenon. ”The coolest part of the caves is your lungs and so moist air starts to accumulate in them… leading to respiratory difficulties.”
Cueva de los Cristales is the incarnation of our most awesome science fiction imaginations – Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. At about the same time as humans first ventured out of Africa, these crystals began to slowly grow. For half a million years they remained protected and nurtured by a womb of hot hydrothermal fluids rich with minerals.
It wasn’t until 2001 that miners, searching for lead, eventually penetrated the cave wall and brought it to light. [...] My hope is that Gonzalo will prevail in his mission to secure funding and to preserve this site as a world heritage monument. To me they are a testament to the hidden forces of the planet, forces which operate on scales far beyond our own.
Link to Story. Experience the caves in this Video. (via Dark Roasted Blend)
In this two-part post, see animals you may or may not be familiar with all dressed in their best Arctic white!
Animals that live in the Arctic (either full time or seasonally) are adapted to extreme conditions. Many animals who overwinter in the Arctic (like the Arctic fox and the ermine) have a coat that thickens and changes color to white during the winter as camouflage in the snow
From the Upcoming 
ueue, submitted by 
Photo by Flickr user MelitaThis dreamy cave is Modra Spilja, The Blue Cave, located off the coast of Croatia. One of those hard-to-get-to locales, it is very much worth the effort to see the Bisevo/Balun Cove. The effect is caused by sunlight filtering in through an underwater opening from the sea, and reflecting off the limestone floor.
It has been there for ages, but wasn’t always accessible by raft:
Though Croatian fisherman have known of the blue cave since ancient times, it wasn’t until 1884 that a (relatively) easy entrance was blasted out with dynamite. Before this small hole in the side of the rock was opened, the only entrance into the cave was to dive underneath the rock wall in just the right spot.
Link with video.
In Nuanquan, China there is a unique tradition dating back about 500 years to celebrate the Lantern Festival. Instead of using fireworks like any old place – or that the fact that fireworks were invented in China back in the 12th century – these folks celebrate it by using something a bit more dangerous and beautiful with molten iron which is then flung at a wall creating a cascade of sparks. What do they use for protection? Sheep skins and a hat…
**I highly recommend watching this clip by clicking on the High Quality button to really enjoy it!
via – Gizmodo
Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932), a German artist and professor, captured these ‘art forms in nature’ and used them to instruct his students.
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by 
