DARVAZA GAS CRATER

              The Darvaza gas crater  known locally as the "Door to Hell" or ''Gates of Hell", is a natural gas field collapsed into an underground cavern located in Derweze, Turkmenistan.Geologists set it on fire to prevent the spread of methane gas, and it is thought to have been burning continuously.


In 1971 in the Karakum desert, not far from the Darvaza village (also known as Derweze) that is translated from Turkmen as ‘gate’, Soviet geologists started to drill at the site where they tapped into a cavern filled with natural gas. During the drilling an accident happened, equipment and transport fell down in a big hole. No one was injured, but there was gas coming out of the hole. Fearing that the hole would lead to the release of poisonous gases, the team decided to burn it off. It was hoped that the fire would use all the fuel within few days, but weeks, months and years passed, and it is still burning today.


      In 2004 Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov issued an order for the Darvaza village to be moved to another place for safety reasons. No one know how long it will still be burning, whether the gas supplies will run out or will the hole will be closed in the end as gas is a valuable resource and it is not burning idle for a few decades. Nevertheless, this natural gas fire remains one of the most enigmatic sights of Turkmenistan attracting numerous tourists every year.
                If you drive up the gas crater during the daytime, it will not impress much and seem a whole in the ground, but when you come closer you will see thousands of fire pieces burning in the 20-meter crater. Gas comes out of the hole and inflames more making the hot air even hotter. There are few other holes around the crater, one of them is filled with turquoise liquid. These holes are recommended to watch in the daytime and cautiously as they crumble on the edges and one can feel the high temperature as well as the smell of the natural gas.

              Natural gas crater Darvaza differs from many other natural sights in the world, mainly with its peace and primitiveness. There are no parking places, pedestrian ways, fences and shops selling souvenirs. It’s only the desert around it and nothing else.

Comments

Post a Comment

POPULAR POSTS IN BLOG

Image
                Salar de Uyuni                            Salar de Uyuni or Salar de Tunupa is the world's largest salt flat at 10,582 square kilometers (4 086 sq mi).It’s located in the Daniel Campos Province in Potosi, southwest Bolivia, near the Andes crest with an elevation of 11,995  feet (3,656 m) above sea level. salar de uyuni in Bolivia Lithium deposit it's buried under all that salt. One of the most popular attractions in Salar de Uyuni is a cemetery for trains.                        Salar means “salt flat” in Spanish and Uyuni comes from the Aymara language which means “pen” or “enclosure”. Meaning Salar de Uyuni can be translated to “The Salt Falt of Uyuni.” There is also a city name Uyuni that many tourist pass through when visiting the Salar.  It contains all ...
Read more
Image
GULF OF ALASKA                   The Gulf of Alaska   is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the east, where Glacier Bay and the Inside Passage are found.                  Gulf of Alaska, broad inlet of the North Pacific on the south coast of Alaska, U.S. Bounded by the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island (west) and Cape Spencer (east), it has a surface area of 592,000 square miles (1,533,000 square km).                It's not two oceans meeting, its glacial melt water meeting the off shore waters of gulf of Alaska. The reason for this strange phenomenon is due to the difference of water density , temperature and salinity of the glacial melt water and off shore waters of gulf of Alaska...
Read more
Image
SCULPTURE  OF NELSON MANDELA                             South African artist marco cianfanelli has constructed a monument to recognize the 50 year anniversary of peace activist and politician nelson mandela’s capture by the apartheid police in 1962. mandela’s profile spans 50 steel columns measuring 21.32 and 29.52 feet (6.5 and 9 meters) high, each anchored to the concrete-covered ground. the shape and form of the sculpture are representative of the leader’s 27 years behind bars for his efforts to bring equal rights and governmental representation to the once racially divided nation. the statue of the nobel prize winner has been erected in howick, a town located 56 miles (90 kilometers) south from the city of durban in the countryside of the southernmost african country.                                   ...
Read more