| Darvaza gas crater | |
| Location Map: | Turkmenistan |
| Location Map Width: | 300 |
| Coordinates: | 40.2525°N 58.4396°W |
| Region: | Ahal Province |
| Country: | Turkmenistan |
The Darvaza gas crater (Turkmen: Garagum ýalkymy),[1] also known as the Door to Hell or Gates of Hell, or, officially, the Shining of Karakum, is a burning natural gas field collapsed into a cavern near Darvaza, Turkmenistan.[2] Hundreds of natural gas fires illuminate the floor and rim of the crater. The crater has been burning since the 1980s. How the crater formed is unknown, but engineers ignited the crater to prevent poisonous gases from spreading.[3]
The gas crater is near the village of Darvaza in the middle of the Karakum Desert, about 260 kilometres (160 mi) north of Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, it has a diameter of 60–70 metres (200–230 ft) and has a depth of about 30 metres (98 ft). Another nearby gas crater is fenced off and has a distinct odor.
The early years of the crater's history are still being determined.[4] Relevant records are either absent from the archives, classified, or inaccessible. Some local geologists have claimed that the collapse of a crater happened in the 1960s; it was set on fire only in the 1980s to prevent the emission of poisonous gases.[5] Others assert that the site was drilled by Soviet engineers in 1971 as an oil field but collapsed within days, forming the crater, with the engineers choosing to flare the crater to prevent the emission of poisonous gases but underestimating the volume of the gas.[6]
In April 2010, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow recommended that measures be taken to limit the crater's influence on the development of other natural gas fields in the area.[7] In January 2022, Berdimuhamedow announced plans to extinguish the crater, citing deleterious effects on local health, the environment, and the natural gas industry.[8] [9] A commission was established to find the optimum technique.[10] Despite Berdimuhamedow's intentions, the crater remains open and burning.
In post-Soviet Turkmenistan, the crater has become a major tourist attraction, perhaps aided to by the declaration of the region as a natural reserve in 2013. A crude road without signage runs out to the crater, and yurts have been set up nearby. In 2018, the gas crater was used as an overnight stop in the Amul-Hazar automobile rally.[11] In 2019, Berdimuhamedow appeared on state television doing doughnut stunts around the crater to disprove rumors of his death.[12]
In 2013, George Kourounis became the first person to set foot at the bottom of the crater; he was gathering soil samples for the Extreme Microbiome Project.[13] The descent was sponsored by National Geographic and featured in an episode of the National Geographic Channel series Die Trying.Kourounis used a custom-made Kevlar harness and multiple Technora ropes attached to a full-body aluminized suit with a self-contained breathing apparatus.[14] He has since wished to descend into the crater again, carrying more equipment for better profiling of the local biome.