Crystal Cave is a cave in the

British overseas territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

. It is located in

Hamilton Parish Hamilton Parish (originally Bedford Parish) is one of the nine Administrative divisions of Bermuda, parishes of Bermuda. It was renamed for Scottish aristocrat James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton (1589–1625) when he purchased the shares o ...

, close to Castle Harbour. The cave is approximately 500 m long, and 62 m deep. The lower 19–20 m of the cave are below water level. The cave formed at a time when the

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

was lower; as the sea level rose, many cave formations which formed above water became submerged. A tourist attraction since 1907, it was discovered in 1905 by Carl Gibbons and Edgar Hollis, two 12-year-old boys searching for a lost cricket ball. Soon after, the Wilkinson family (the owners of the property since 1884) learned of the discovery. Mr. Percy Wilkinson lowered his 14-year-old son Bernard into it with a bicycle lamp on 140 feet of strong rope tied to a tree to explore the cave. The area surrounding

Harrington Sound Harrington Sound is a large inland body of water in the northeast of the main island of Bermuda. It is surrounded by the main island on all sides, only appearing open to the ocean via a small channel called Flatt's Inlet, Bermuda, Flatt's Inlet ...

(which lies to the south of Crystal Cave) is of limestone formation and is noted for its many subterranean waterways, through which the waters of the sound empty into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. Crystal Cave is one of these, and, as its name suggests, is known for its beauty, with many

stalactite A stalactite (, ; , ) is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble and that can be deposited as a colloid, or is in suspension (chemistry ...

stalagmite A stalagmite (, ; ; ) is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically composed of calcium carbonate, but may consist ...

s and deep, clear pools. However, some crystal formations have been damaged by earthquakes in the distant past. An excursion to Crystal Cave also includes the neighbouring Fantasy Cave, with Fantasy being deeper (88 steps down). Fantasy Cave was reopened in the summer of 2001 with all the pathways rebuilt and re-illuminated by artificial lighting. It was discovered and opened about the same time as Crystal Cave, but was closed by the owners in the 1940s. The two caves located on 8 Crystal Caves Rd. at Wilkinson Ave. are accessible by bus going between Hamilton and St. George's Parishes, taxi and other private forms of transportation (including motorbike and bicycle). Outside the two caves is a sub-tropical garden lined with palm trees where many species of trees and flowers are located. The caves are owned by the local Wilkinson Trust and are open to the public.

Gallery

File:Crystal Cave Bermuda1.JPG File:Crystal Cave Bermuda2.JPG Crystal Cave File:Crystal Cave Bermuda 2.jpg File:Crystal Cave Bermuda 3.jpg File:Crystal_Cave,_Bermuda_2.jpg Fantasy Cave File:IMG_0343fantasy.JPG File:IMG 0348fantasy.JPG File:IMG 0351fantasy.JPG

References

Caves of Bermuda Limestone caves Hamilton Parish {{Bermuda-geo-stub