Astari
Gate of Hell is a fire crater located close to Darvaza with a 350-person village. This village is a small region located in the Derweze of Turkmenistan with a distance of 260 kilometers from the capital city, Ashgabat, which includes 70% sand dunes.
This fire crater is located in the middle of the desert named Karakum Desert.
The other name of Gate Of Hell is Darvaza Gas Crater, which was formed due to mining drilling and methane gas coming out of the crater and burning because it was ignited by fire.
As of 2018, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov as the president announced Gate Of Hell changed its name to Shining Of Karakum.
Despite the difficulties of the weather and nature in Turkmenistan, the Gate Of Hell with its burning flames and fairly glow is truly stunning, especially the view at night with a million stars in the sky.
Read also: Petra, the Rose-Red City with Historical Sites
Contents
The Detailed Structure Of ‘Gate Of Hell’
The Gate of Hell is a 230 feet wide crater and is up to 65 feet deep. This is also the hottest place in the world with 6 times hotter air temperature.
The temperature of the fire burning in this crater is estimated to have reached 1,000 degrees Celsius or 700 degrees Fahrenheit. The gas in the crater is the largest in the world.
Based on the discoveries by Canadian explorer, George Kouronis, for his expedition with National Geographic, he was the first person to descend into this fire crater.
He admitted a little burnt like a baked potato over very high heat while inside the fire crater even though day had turned into night.
The Eternal Flame And Why It Never Ends
The main cause of the eternal fire at the Gate of Hell is methane gas from drilling carried out for the first time by the Soviet Union.
This was supposed to be an industrial accident, but it turned out a methane gas escaped from the crater.
According to Turkmenistan geologists, the crater was formed around 1960 and started to catch fire in 1980, while the methane gas in the crater did not run out and the fire continued to burn.
Due to the extreme heat from the desert area and the fire crater, the heavy rain that fell also couldn’t dampen the flames from the Gate Of Hell.
Read also: Gum Wall, the Artistic Behind Sticky Creativity on a Brick Wall
The History of ‘Gate Of Hell’
Gate of Hell is the result of gas exploration carried out by the Soviet Union. In 1971, a group of geologists searched for potential sources for a gas mine.
After finding the right location, the drilling was held. Due to the officers’ negligence, they did not know that they were drilling right above the gas pocket. This caused the ground to collapse and bury all the equipment.
The collapse triggered a reaction in the sedimentary rocks around the drilling area and caused several craters, one of them is Darvaza, Gate Of Hell.
The gas mining drilling turned out to end up beyond the predictions of experts from the Soviet Union.
The collapse that created the crater also released dangerous methane gas. The effect is not toxic, but it will interfere with oxygen and cause living creatures to have difficulty breathing and die.
Besides that, methane gas can also cause an explosion if negligence occurs. Therefore, the researchers decided to light a fire in the crater in the hope that the methane gas would run out a few weeks after drilling.
In fact, the burning fire never ended, and local residents named the place as the Gate Of Hell.