Thursday, 5 March 2026

Worlds largest Geode and Gigantic Spanish Crystals? Pulpí, Almeria/Murcia, Spain

Pulpí Geode

Earth is a wonderous planet, as I am sure all planets must be. However it is on Earth we live and therefore Earth's wonders that we are closest to.

Several years ago we had the pleasure of spending a few months in the northern Almeria region of Spain close to the border with Murcia province and in an area frequented chiefly by the native Spanish during the summer months for holidaying.

It was a glorious summer of Sand, Sea and Cycling surrounded by wide sweeping vistas, mountains and seas, and the local Spanish inhabitants who always seemed extremely cheery, helpful and welcoming.

It was early on during our trip that I found out about the "Geode Gigante".

There was a large roadside sign which I often cycled past. It had a single big black arrow pointing off down a smaller road and upon which the words "Geode Gigante" were also printed in some form of typeface.

I had no idea what it meant or indicated but my curiosity was piqued and while my better half had yet to join me on the trip to Spain, I decided to delve a little deeper.

I had figured out it probably meant "Gigantic Geode" and although I assumed a Geode was a geological feature of some type I wasn't quite sure what a Geode actually was.

It turned out to be Pulpí Geode.

A Geode is a spherical object much like a ball or an egg if it's oblong.

Its center is hollow but all its sides are often covered in crystals and they can be inches wide or the size of a large cave and they are often formed in Lava flows.

The crystals can be something like those at Pulpí, composed of Selinite, which I believe is gypsum based or Agate, Amethyst or some other type of crystalline substance.

Think of a hollow ball but its insides are covered in crystals all pointing inwards to a small hollow center and you'll get the picture.

(I subsequently bought a couple of small geodes of

Agate and Amethyst as household curios.)

I travelled up by Car on "Spec" to Pulpí as I had heard it can be booked out for months.

Luckily it was early in the season and in my best pidgin Spanish enquired about getting a ticket to the geode.

The ladies at the visitor center were extremely helpful and sorted me out with a ticket for the following day but explained that the tour

would be with a Spanish speaking guide and I could get a pre-recorded headset which played English commentary.

It's an amazing tour, covering the grounds itself, the abandoned underground mines where the "Geode Gigante" was found and several tunnels, stairways and caverns as well as a brief glimpse into the Geode itself.

All in all quite a mind boggling visit to be sure. I was amazed to learn that the geode was only discovered in the 1990's.

The Geode being what I would consider a marvel of nature, perhaps best described as a stunning wonder of the World, I am somewhat perplexed at how so few people in my home country seem to know about its existence.

I was told by a local that this area was settled by a lot of Spanish/Cuban emigrees who had made their fortunes and returned home and set up mining companies.

Old mines are scattered literally everywhere along this coastline and evidenced by towers, chimneys, spoil heaps and old rail lines and drills.

A lot of the surrounding areas are devoted to high density agriculture, places like Pozo Higuera, Pulpí, Huercal Overa, Aguilas and Almendricos.

I would often see and occasionally speak to farm workers who were originally from Latin America.

It appears to me that a lot of locals emigrated to South America and some of the workers who are their descendants have now returned to Spain.

There was also a huge cohort of African migrant workers in the fields and greenhouses of Almeria, most of who as of 2023 were "illegals".

They were dreadfully low paid, lived in Shanty's and corrugated shacks and did horrifically back breaking harvest work under the burning daytime Sun.

Spain's economy, much like that of most other "civilised" nations would "tank" without them.

We seem to detest Johnny Foreigner and the "illegals" forgetting that we "civilised" and cosmopolitan peoples wouldn't dream of doing the nightmare that hard physical labour represents.

We're far too refined and educated for that shit.... best leave it to Johnny Foreigner and close our eyes.

Once you go inland around this area you won't find many (if any) "English Breakfast" style bars or restaurants which I found refreshingly encouraging. The Spanish are beautiful people, very welcoming and helpful.

Almeria contains Europe's only official Desert, the Tabernas Desert. The area almost reminds me of Monument Valley in the U.S.A.

Ongoing desertification is obvious to the casual observer and temperatures have recently become extreme, so extreme in fact that many inhabitants who have the means are hoping to move to cooler regions in northern Spain.

Excess deaths caused by extreme temperatures in Spain during 2023 were above 8000.

There are many nearby towns and villages such as Cuevas del Almanzora where you can drive along the "spillways" a la Travolta in the movie Grease. These are often used as local byroads.

------- POSTSCRIPT. -------

Temperatures above 40℃ combined with 100% humidity make for high rates of mortality, the humidity generally causing the "wet bulb" effect and much more dangerous than the "dry bulb" effect.

These "wet bulb" conditions are often found in coastal areas of Spain or after heavy rainfall, the rain often lingering for months as small ponds on earth that has been previously sun baked dry to the hardness of concrete.

The "wet bulb" effect describes the human body's exterior, already wet and damp with moisture from the humid air.

This inhibits the body's inbuilt cooling mechanism of sweating. In these types of conditions you either cannot sweat or have a vastly reduced capacity to sweat.

Because you are already wet and damp from the moisture laden air surrounding you, you may not even realise you are no longer sweating.

The result of this is that injury or death can occur at much cooler temperatures than those found in a hot dry climate.

Basically people die at cooler temperatures than would normally be expected during periods of combined high humidity and warm weather.

Personally, an infection late that summer in Spain combined with 100% humidity and temperatures above 40℃ have left me with unresolved lung issues.

Buyer beware.

www.fossilera.com- What is the largest geode in the world?

Curiosities of the giant Geode of Pulpí

www.tripadvisor - La Geoda De Pulpí

www.ebsco.com- What is a Geode

The origins of the Pulpí geode

www.andalucia - Cuevas-del-Almanzora

The Visitor Centre is long closed up and abandoned.

Wiggle through the wire and explore the caves yourself. Be careful not to fall through the holes in the floors, it can be a long drop.

Almanzora Reservoir.

Tabernas. Europe's only Desert is nearby.

Cabezo de la Jara Observatory, Puerto Lumbreras.

Cabezo de la Jara Observatory, Puerto Lumbreras.

The old abandoned mining village of el Arteal.

It was a self contained community with Cinema, Shops and Medical facilities.

It was also used as a training area by the Spanish Legion after its abandonment.

Explorande - el Arteal

Las Herrerías Mines

Sierra Almagrera.

Palomares.

Peculiar one this one. There is still roughly half a kilogram of Plutonium that was vaporized into dust lying around here somewhere.

Originally you couldn't even farm here because of the missing Plutonium. Now it has farming, houses, apartments and shops alongside missing Plutonium, the most toxic substance in the Universe.