- Planet Earth
- Geology
Due to a weird quirk of geology, New Mexico's Bandera Volcano Ice Cave never warms above 31 degrees Fahrenheit, even when temperatures outside exceed 100 F in summer.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Frigid conditions inside the Bandera Volcano Ice Cave have caused ice to grow there for at least 3,400 years.
(Image credit: Zachary Frank via Alamy)
- Copy link
- X
Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.
Become a Member in Seconds
Unlock instant access to exclusive member features.
Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Delivered Daily
Daily Newsletter
Sign up for the latest discoveries, groundbreaking research and fascinating breakthroughs that impact you and the wider world direct to your inbox.
Signup +
Once a week
Life's Little Mysteries
Feed your curiosity with an exclusive mystery every week, solved with science and delivered direct to your inbox before it's seen anywhere else.
Signup +
Once a week
How It Works
Sign up to our free science & technology newsletter for your weekly fix of fascinating articles, quick quizzes, amazing images, and more
Signup +
Delivered daily
Space.com Newsletter
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!
Signup +
Once a month
Watch This Space
Sign up to our monthly entertainment newsletter to keep up with all our coverage of the latest sci-fi and space movies, tv shows, games and books.
Signup +
Once a week
Night Sky This Week
Discover this week's must-see night sky events, moon phases, and stunning astrophotos. Sign up for our skywatching newsletter and explore the universe with us!
Signup +Join the club
Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.
Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter QUICK FACTSName: Bandera Volcano Ice Cave
Location: Zuni Mountains, New Mexico
Coordinates: 34.9932, -108.0807
Why it's incredible: The cave is so cold that Arctic algae grow on the ice inside.
The Bandera Volcano Ice Cave is a hollow in the ground in New Mexico where temperatures never exceed 31 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 0.6 degrees Celsius).
The ice inside the Ice Cave is up to 20 feet (6 meters) thick on the floor year-round. Due to the freezing conditions, Arctic algae have colonized the cave, growing on top of the ice to form a blue-green, living blanket, according to the Ice Cave's website.
You may like-
Sistema Ox Bel Ha: A vast hidden system that's the longest underwater cave in the world
-
Deep snow blanket transforms Yellowstone Lake into a giant white void
-
Spotted Lake: Canada's soda lake with colorful brine pools that are smelly and slimy 'like the white of an egg'
Watch On
The cave is "one of New Mexico's weirdest spots, where it's both hot and cold all at the same time," Paul Mauermann, an environmental educator and director of New Mexico's Sandia Mountain Natural History Center, said in a video.
The Ice Cave is freezing because it is nestled inside a collapsed lava tube. Lava tubes are natural tunnels that form beneath surface lava flows during volcanic eruptions. Because surface flows are in contact with air, they cool and solidify more quickly than the lava flowing closer to the ground. As a result, when a volcano stops erupting, the core of a lava flow drains away while the outside hardens, leaving an empty conduit, or cave.
The Ice Cave has porous walls and an opening that's just the right shape to trap cold air inside the lava tube while keeping the warm air outside. This "natural icebox" is continually replenished through rainfall and snowmelt that freeze upon contact with the icy floor, according to the Ice Cave's website.
MORE INCREDIBLE PLACES—Sistema Ox Bel Ha: A vast hidden system that's the longest underwater cave in the world
—Triple Divide Peak: Montana's unique liquid 'crossroads' where water can flow into three oceans
—Eternal Flame Falls: New York's mini waterfall that hides a grotto filled with undying fire
Bandera Volcano is also remarkable, as it represents one of the best and most accessible examples of a cinder cone volcanic eruption in North America. This type of eruption is short but explosive, with sprays of lava that crystallize in the air before landing on the ground. This results in steep cones covered in loose fragments that make it hard for anyone to climb some of the volcano's vents.
Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter nowContact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.Bandera is now dormant. One of its vents collapsed during the eruption, forming a 800-foot-deep (240 m) crater that visitors can view from a breach on the south side. Lava likely flowed through this gap and into the valley below, forming a 23-mile-long (37 kilometers) river of molten rock that has since solidified into lava fields, according to the website.
Discover more incredible places, where we highlight the fantastic history and science behind some of the most dramatic landscapes on Earth.
TOPICS incredible places
Sascha PareSocial Links NavigationStaff writer Sascha is a U.K.-based staff writer at Live Science. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Southampton in England and a master’s degree in science communication from Imperial College London. Her work has appeared in The Guardian and the health website Zoe. Besides writing, she enjoys playing tennis, bread-making and browsing second-hand shops for hidden gems.
View MoreYou must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
Logout Read more
Deep snow blanket transforms Yellowstone Lake into a giant white void
Spotted Lake: Canada's soda lake with colorful brine pools that are smelly and slimy 'like the white of an egg'
Rare dusting of snow covers one of the driest place on Earth and shuts down massive radio telescope
Coconucos volcanic chain: Colombia's stunning cluster of volcanoes, lost in an otherworldly landscape
Giant structure discovered deep beneath Bermuda is unlike anything else on Earth
Extreme 'paradise' volcano in Costa Rica is like a piece of ancient Mars on our doorstep
Latest in Geology
Scientist accidentally stumbles across bizarre ancient ‘wrinkle structures’ in Morocco that shouldn't be there
New map shows weird magnetic anomaly lurking beneath Australia's Northern Territory
Enormous 'mega-blob' under Hawaii is solid rock and iron, not gooey — and it may fuel a hotspot
The Colorado River's largest tributary flows 'uphill' for over 100 miles — and geologists may finally have an explanation for it
Chocolate Hills: The color-changing mounds in the Philippines that inspired legends of mud-slinging giants
Ancient burrowing bees made their nests in the tooth cavities and vertebrae of dead rodents, scientists discover
Latest in Features
Bandera Volcano Ice Cave: The weird lava tube in New Mexico whose temperature is always below freezing
Psychedelics may rewire the brain to treat PTSD. Scientists are finally beginning to understand how.
Trippy 'biomass' snap reveals first detailed look at our planet's carbon stores
When were boats invented?
Psychedelic drug ayahuasca could treat PTSD, early studies hint. But exactly how it works isn't clear.
Ancient lake full of crop circles lurks in the shadow of Saudi Arabia's 'camel-hump' mountain
LATEST ARTICLES
1'Invisible scaffolding of the universe' revealed in ambitious new James Webb telescope images- 2Extraordinary photo captures first appearance of Siberian peregrine falcon in Australia's arid center
- 3Scientist accidentally stumbles across bizarre ancient ‘wrinkle structures’ in Morocco that shouldn't be there
- 4Psychedelic drug ayahuasca could treat PTSD, early studies hint. But exactly how it works isn't clear.
- 5Psychedelics may rewire the brain to treat PTSD. Scientists are finally beginning to understand how.