turkmenistan
Darwaza gas crater which means Gate is popular in Western world
as “Door to Hell”.
In fact it means gate and it is located in
Turkmenistan. Diameter of gas crater Darwaza is 60 meters while
depth is 20 meters. The gas crater is located near to village
called Darwasa which is 260 km far from Ashgabat. In Village
Darwaza had existed for long time but in 2004 it was relocated
to another place.
In 1971 Russian geologists encountered underground gas
accumulation in outskirts of Darwaza village. While excavations
and drilling of exploratory hole, geologists came across
underground cavern which resulted in collapse of soil and formed
of hole full in gas. Rig with all equipment and vehicles fell
into the formed hole, fortunately,
people were not injured. In order to cease the gas leak which
might probably effect on people and nature geologists decided to
burn the gas expecting that fire would extinguish in w few days
but they were mistaken. It is still burning day and night from
1971. Once something or someone fell into the Darwaza gas crater
then there is no way to escape. Several flames are formed within
the crater and the height of some flames reach 10 to 15 meters.
Not
far from the burning gas crater there are two more holes, but
they are not burning due to weak gas pressure. At the bottom of
a crater there is bubbling
liquid mud in
light gray color and at
the bottom of another turquoise liquid.
According to
experts, with the help of directed
drilling from the denser parts, two
deposits can be exploited. On a site of "turquoise" lake mining is
no longer possible. Not far from the fiery crater there
are several
suspended wells.
From the highway to
the fiery crater it is several miles along a country road.
Only on a real 4x4 or trucks can reach there.
In case you plan to visit Darwas gas crater then
is better to drive up there shortly before sunset. You can enjoy
the beauty of crater during night and see the rest the next day
in the morning. This is really an unforgettable sight. On such
a ground almost nothing grows but there lots of
mushrooms! In the fiery crater can find a lot of mushrooms. It
seems that the gas in some way contributes to the growth of
fungi. At the craters you should be very careful. The land is
loose and fall off constantly. This is especially true in the
fiery crater. There are a lot of fresh screes.
