MicroFactzzz#0163 · 🌍 Strange Earth
This Desert Crater Has Been Burning Nonstop for Over Fifty Years
The Darvaza crater in Turkmenistan, nicknamed the 'Gateway to Hell,' has been on fire for decades — and nobody's entirely sure when or why it started.
In the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan sits a crater dozens of meters across that's been continuously spewing flames, creating a scene straight out of an entrance to the underworld.
The crater formed when the ground collapsed over a natural gas deposit, and its continuous burning is fed by methane that keeps seeping out of the rock — the exact story of who lit it and when isn't clearly documented, even though the popular version credits Soviet engineers in the 1970s.
The fire has burned nonstop for decades, making Darvaza one of the few places on Earth where you can see a natural, continuous flame on a landscape scale, visible from a long distance away at night.
In recent years Turkmenistan's authorities have considered extinguishing the crater, citing wasted gas and environmental impact on the surrounding area — but for now it remains one of the country's biggest tourist attractions.
Sources
- General knowledge / encyclopedic sources
This fact is based on generally available knowledge, not a single, citable source. See how we approach verification.
Krulicza Nora
Want to go deeper?
- Strange Earth
The Grand Canyon Is Missing an Entire Billion Years of Earth's History
New research shows the gap in the Grand Canyon's rock record opened hundreds of millions of years earlier than geologists believed for a century and a half.
Learn more → - Strange Earth
These Rocks 'Walk' Across the Desert on Their Own — and No One Saw It Happen for Decades
Boulders on the dried-up Racetrack Playa in Death Valley leave long trails behind them, even though nobody ever moves them.
Learn more → - Strange Earth
Blood-Red Water Is Pouring Out of a Glacier in Antarctica
Blood Falls is a natural spring where intensely red, salty water seeps out from beneath the Taylor Glacier.
Learn more → - Strange Earth
This African Lake Can Naturally 'Turn' Dead Animals to Stone
The highly alkaline waters of Tanzania's Lake Natron preserve animal bodies in a way that looks like natural mummification.
Learn more →