In New Mexico’s Carlsbad Caverns National Park, 700 feet below the surface, is a miraculous pool that has only recently been discovered.
The world’s largest and most well-known cave, Lechuguilla Cave in New Mexico, is where the seemingly “virgin” cave pool was discovered.
However, this strange discovery was made 213 meters below the cave’s entrance, which also happens to be one of the tallest (or deepest) in the world. This indicates that humans had never before entered the cave.
In a Facebook post on their official page, Carlsbad Caverns called the site “completely pristine” and noted that they believe the bacteria living in the water had “evolved entirely without human presence.”
The spotless pool that was found in the network of caves has white frosted rock surrounding it, giving it an almost otherworldly appearance. The color of the water may appear to be creamy and murky, but it is actually an optical illusion.
Geoscientist and expedition leader Max Wisshak explained that the water in the pool is actually “crystal clear” and is believed to have come from ancient rainwater that seeped through the limestone lying overhead and dropped or slid along the cave walls into the pool.
“This pool has been isolated for hundreds of thousands of years and had never seen light before that day,” said Carlsbad Caverns natural and cultural resources chief Rodney Horrocks.
Nowadays, almost everything is contaminated by human pollution, which is why the clean pool is so crucial. Litter and other man-made products contaminate the environment even deep in Antarctica. An entirely pristine sample of nature is a rare treat for science.
