Water and salt are, in principle, the only ingredients that nature needs to form crystals like those of the Giant Geode of Pulpí . We could even copy the recipe at home if we add a cavity that serves as a container, for example, a plate; a lot of patience to wait for the water to evaporate and the salt crystals remain in it.
This process also requires certain conditions of stability and an appropriate concentration level of the salt. But, as we said, nature is the architect of this recipe and knows it perfectly , to the point that it is able to cover geological cavities with different compounds and turn them into bright and eye-catching geodes.
Geodes there are many. Of many colors, minerals and sizes. These hollow stones covered with attractive crystals can be found in Street markets and specialized geology shops . But giant geodes there are very few in the world. And the only one that can be visited since the summer of 2019 is in Pulpi (Almeria).
The visit ( €22 for adults, €10 for children between 8 and 16 years old) will consist of 90 minutes long and the groups will be made up of 12 persons , they report from the City Council. It is important to note that the use of a protective helmet throughout the visit will be mandatory and that access to the interior of the Geode is prohibited (except scientific visits). as visitors, we can look outside.
The enormity of the Pulpí Giant Geode reminds one of Jules Verne's 'Journey to the Center of the Earth'.
The Giant Geode of Pulpí is the largest in all of Europe and the second in the world documented to date. The largest geode found is located in Mexico, in the state of Chihuahua , but its atmospheric conditions make it impossible for it to be visited, since it reaches a temperature of up to 58º C and a relative humidity of almost 100%.
For its part, the one in Almería is funnel-shaped and occupies a 8 meter long cavity , by 1.8 wide and 1.7 high , and is located about 60 meters deep , coinciding with sea level. The transparency, dimensions, perfection and size of its crystals, up to 2 meters long , make it a unique phenomenon worldwide.
The crystals are nothing more than calcium sulfate: gypsum . A very common material. What is exceptional, in this case, are the very specific conditions that shaped matter and that led her to acquire her sensational appearance . A slow process, of thousands of years, and that began with a fracture in the rock that was filled with hot water of volcanic origin.
This water, with the passage of geological time, cooled slowly and, when the gases evaporated, enough space was left for the water in combination with the calcium sulfate will begin to crystallize.
At a depth of 60 metres, you feel like you've landed on Krypton, Superman's planet.
We have to remember that the original meaning of the word crystal is none other than 'supercooled water'. Interestingly, the transparency of the casts of the Giant Geode it is such that they seem huge blocks of ice and even, you can read the fine print of a book through thick pieces.
And if an interesting cluster of coincidences allowed it to form, chance also made it last until our days and it was discovered. Sometimes it happens that some simple and naive acts end up becoming a kind of prophecy. Baptize the Pilar de Jaravía mine , belonging to the Almeria town of Pulpí, with the name of who would think -also known as the Rich Mine– , has a certain divinatory touch, at least.
There, on the slopes of the Sierra del Aguilon , you can still see the mining facilities which were in operation from the mid-19th century until well into the 20th century.
Mining was a way of life in almost the entire Levante Almeria and that area has always been the object of metal searches, especially lead, iron or silver . Possibly, the miners who worked there occasionally came across striking gypsum crystals that, surely, they gave to relatives or acquaintances, or sold to a collector. But they almost never discovered the most incredible of all the pieces that the mine treasured.
For this reason, when in the decade of the sixties of last century exploitation was closed definitively, nobody could even imagine that its best seam was still inside and undiscovered, hidden for millions of years.
It was in December 1999 when members of the Madrid Mineralogist Group discovered, in this abandoned mine, the cavity of siderite upholstered by huge gypsum crystals that emerged from the walls, floor and ceiling, and whose purity allows us to observe inside drops of water that have been imprisoned for almost an eternity. The group was doing one of his many campaigns to search for minerals for study and collecting and, opening a kind of cover, they ran into the entrance to this magic cave.
Just twenty years after that serendipity, and after a lot of work by administrations and scientists – all aware of its natural importance and the tourist vein that it could mean for a district that has about 200 inhabitants – the Giant Geode opened to the public in 2019.
Until then, the only way to enter this underground cavity was virtually. New technologies have allowed many visitors explore the interior in 3D of this natural monument without damaging it. The visit can be made from the Castle of San Juan de los Terreros and allows the observer to dwell on every detail from a 360º perspective . Nail 3D glasses and headphones they are the only necessary luggage for this virtual trip inside this natural spectacle.
Originally, access to the geode was complicated and entails some risks due to the abandonment of the mine, since it is more than 50 meters deep. Thus , the objective of the security, conditioning, access and musealization works not only that visitors can see the geode, but also to visit a part of the mine and become not only the best preserved geode in the world, but also in a whole benchmark for European geological tourism.
If you want to visit it, keep in mind that a natural phenomenon as incredible as this is a very precious experience, especially in summer, so you will have to book your visit in advance on the web enabled for it . What we do know for sure is that it is worth the wait in order to take a look at this sample that nature will never stop surprising us.