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| 'Door to Hell' (Photo by Tormod Sandtorv) |
That’s how
long the Darvaza gas crater has been burning
in Turkmenistan. Originally “thought to
be a substantial oil field site,” this part of
the Karakum Desert was drilled by Soviet
engineers back in 1971. When a “natural gas
pocket” was exposed, the site “collapsed
into a wide crater.”
Fearing the
release of methane gas into nearby
towns, authorities decided to “burn the
gas off.” The crater has been burning ever
since. Its flaming mouth and sulphur
smell have spawned the name “Door
to Hell.”
You’d think
that people might avoid such a
place, but the opposite is sadly true. Tourists have been knocking at Hell's Door ever since.
Resources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darvaza_gas_crater
Copyright January 11, 2018 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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