The frigid conditions inside the Bandera volcano’s ice cave caused ice to form there for at least 3,400 years.
Due to a strange peculiarity of geology, the Bandera Volcano Ice Cave in New Mexico never warms above 0.6 degrees Celsius, even when temperatures outside exceed 38ºC in the summer.
A Bandera Volcano Ice Cave is a cavity in the ground, in New Mexico (USA), where temperatures never exceed -0.6ºC.
The cave formed about 10,000 years agowhen the nearby Bandera Volcano erupted violently, expelling lava that solidified on the surface while caves formed in the lower layers. The cave’s unusual geology preserved frigid conditions, which caused ice to form inside at least 3,400 years ago, says .
As detailed by , the ice inside the Ice Cave is up to 6 meters thick on the ground throughout the year. Due to the freezing conditions, arctic algae has colonized the cave, growing on top of the ice to form a bright, blue-green blanket.
“It’s one of the strangest places in New Mexicowhere it is both hot and cold”, explained Paul Mauermann, environmental educator and director of the Sandia Mountain Natural History Center, in New Mexico, in the following video.
The mysteries of the cave
The Ice Grotto it is cold because it is embedded inside a collapsed lava tube. Lava tubes are natural tunnels that form beneath lava flows to the surface during volcanic eruptions.
Because surface flows are in contact with air, they cool and solidify more quickly than lava that flows closer to the ground.
Consequently, explains Live Science, When a volcano stops erupting, the core of a lava flow drains away while the exterior hardens, leaving an empty conduit, or cave..
The Ice Cave has porous walls and an opening just the right shape to trap cold air inside the lava tubewhile keeping warm air outside. This “natural ice box” It is continually replenished through rain and melting snow, which freezes on contact with the frozen ground.
