Kawatche Caves

The Kawatche Caves, as first seen in the TV series Smallville, are an ancient Kryptonian cave where many memories of the planet Krypton and prophecies are foretold through paintings on the walls. Although it may look like a very ancient place, it is full of many types of futuristic technology.

Technology involved
Keystone

In the caves there is an octagonal key hole on the wall of the cave, which has Lionel Luthor obsessed. The key is an octagonal piece of alloy that was found where Clark Kent's spaceship landed. The alloy is originally from the spaceship. This keystone also allows Jonathan Kent to contact Jor-El as seen in season 4. When the Keystone is near the wall it reacts and shoots out a beam of light that opens the door to the pillar to The Kryptonian Crystals. Also the keystone can be used for other things. It was shown in the episode "Memoria" that it can be used to create portals or paintings in the cave.

The Crystal of Fire

The first crystal to be discovered is the one of fire. In the episode "Crusade", Lex finds it inside an ancient Egyptian statue. However, Clark, as Kal-El, steals it from him and places it on a hidden Kryptonian altar located inside a secret chamber in the Kawatche caves underneath Smallville.

The fire crystal appears to contain a massive amount of energy. In the episode "Spell", the witch Isobel, inhabiting Lana's body, discovers the crystal in the caves and upon touching it, screams in pain. In the same episode, Clark, who had recently been stripped of his powers, regains them after touching the crystal. Also, holding stone while Clark was ent to look for it, Lex was healed by the poison in his bloostream.

The Crystal of Water

The next element to be introduced is the water crystal. Lionel discovers it in a Mayan statue, and intends to use its power to switch bodies with Lex, but ends up switching bodies with Clark instead (cf. "Transference"). Clark, in Lionel's body, somewhat comes into possession of the stone and uses it to reverse the process.

Dr. Bridgette Crosby, an assistant of Dr. Virgil Swann, obtains the crystal at the end of "Transference", and it doesn't resurface until the episode "Spirit", where Dr. Crosby is found dead. At this point, Jason Teague is now in possession of the stone. In the episode "Ageless", Lionel forces Genevieve to give him the element.

In the season finale, "Commencement", Lex obtains the stone after it releases a pulse of strange energy and puts Lionel into a comatose state. The stone is placed in a storage vault hidden in Lex's office. By the end of the same episode, Clark finally obtains the water stone and unites it with the other two crystals on the Kryptonian altar.

The Crystal of Air

The last stone to be introduced during the season is the air crystal, in the episode "Sacred". In China, it is discovered inside a horse statue hidden at the base of a tree. After a battle between Clark and Isobel, Jason secretly claims the stone for himself, but later gives it to Lana.

In the season finale, Genevieve attacks Lana, who once again becomes possessed by Isobel. During the altercation, Isobel stabs Genevieve in the chest with the crystal, killing her. Jor-El later explains to Clark that the crystal coming into contact with human blood causes a second meteor shower. In desperation, Lana inexplicably decides to give the crystal to Clark, who then unites it with the fire crystal on the Kryptonian altar.

Crystal of Knowledge

Once Clark unites all of the crystals on the Kryptonian altar in the Kawatche caves, they all merge into one single crystal, and once he grabs it, Clark is suddenly transported to the Arctic. Once there, Clark throws the crystal in one direction, which then buries itself in the ground and forms the Fortress of Solitude.

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