Crystal Cave (Ohio)
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The Crystal Cave is a limestone cave located in Put-in-Bay, Ohio, a small town on South Bass Island in Lake Erie, with walls that display large crystals. It is also the world's largest geode.
In 1887 a Mr. Gustav Heineman emigrated from Baden-Baden, Germany to Put-in-Bay, Ohio, where he established a winery. In 1897 he sank a well beneath his winery and discovered a large vug at a depth of 30 feet (10 m). On exploring the cave he found the cave walls covered with extremely large and well developed tabular crystals identified as celestine, a form of strontium sulfate.
The original cave was much smaller than it is today, as much of the celestite was mined for the manufacturing of fireworks. However, Mr. Heineman decided to stop the mining and turn the property into a tourist attraction. The Crystal Cave turned out to be an excellent idea; the Heineman winery survived prohibition thanks to tourist revenues from visits to the cave, while other wineries in the vicinity went bankrupt.
Today the Crystal Cave is open daily, where the public can view remarkably well developed celestine crystals up to 3 feet (1 m) in width, which range in color from white to slightly blue. The crystals form extensive linings on the limestone walls of the 30 foot (10 m) deep cave. Although there are other limestone caves nearby, none exhibit any significant celestine mineralization.
