Into the Lost Crystal Caves
By Melissa Camacho,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Dramatic docu highlights dangers of unique cave exploration.
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Into the Lost Crystal Caves
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What's the Story?
INTO THE LOST CRYSTAL CAVES features scientists and explorers venturing into unique crystal-filled caves located in the mining town of Naica, Mexico. The Giant Crystal Cave, which was accidentally discovered by the Industrias Peñoles mining company in 2000, is part of a system of caves beneath the mine workings of the small town. The cave, which is half a million years old and located 1000 feet underground, contains big, perfectly faced crystalline blocks of selenite and some of the largest beams of of natural crystals ever found. It's also located almost three miles above a magma chamber, making it extremely hot and deadly to explore. In 2009 cavers and scientists traveled to Mexico to navigate and study the caves, leading to some fascinating discoveries, but due to the mining company's plans to allow the caves to reflood, it also marked the final opportunity for to learn more about this wondrous part of the Earth's subsurface first hand.
Is It Any Good?
This documentary is both informative and intriguing. Into The Lost Crystal Caves dramatically reminds viewers of the dangers associated with the cave exploration. It reveals how technology is often no match for nature. Video from a previous expedition that captures a caver's harrowing exit from a crevasse adds to the hearstopping adventure. It offers a rare look at one of the Earth's most fascinating formations and shows how researchers did what they could to study it before it disappeared under the water.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what message Into The Lost Crystal Caves sends about taking risks in the name of science and discovery. Do you feel like what the cavers and scientists are doing is too dangerous or is it simply part of their job?
Why do you think Industrias Peñoles decided to let the Giant Crystal Cave fill up with water again? How can that decision affect the environment?
TV Details
- Premiere date: October 8, 2010
- Cast: Robin Ward
- Network: Max
- Genre: Reality TV
- Topics: Science and Nature
- TV rating: NR
- Last updated: August 26, 2021
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