Door to Hell in Turkmenistan

This so-called Derweze or "door to hell" is a giant crater in the desert Karakum, Turkmenistan, which was created by geologists studying the site 40 years ago...

This so-called Derweze or "door to hell" is a giant crater in the desert Karakum, Turkmenistan, which was created by geologists studying the site 40 years ago...In 1971, researchers from the Soviet Union in an attempt to open a hole in the ground, they fell on a gas cave. The soil at that point collapsed, revealing a crater with a diameter of 70 meters.

For fear that this crater could release into the atmosphere poisonous gases, geologists decided to set it on fire. They estimated that the fire would burn for a few days until flammable gases were exhausted, but the crater remains aflame until today!

The door to hell is located in Karakum Desert, 260 km north of Ashgabat. The golden glow is visible in a radius of several kilometers from the village Derweze (meaning gate).
In April 2009, the country's President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, visited the area and ordered the sealing of the crater. However, this did not happen.