Derweze, also known as the door to hell, is a 70 meter wide hole in the middle of the Karakum desert in Turkmenistan. The hole was formed in 1971 when a team of soviet geologists had their drilling rig collapse when they hit a cavern filled with natural gas. In an attempt to avoid poisonous discharge, they decided to burn it off, thinking that the gas would be depleted in only a few days. Derweze is still burning today.
we learned about this in geology class :)
I have posted before. I will post again.
1000 places to go before i die: Door to Hell, Derweze, Karakum Desert, Turkmenistan
i want to go there!