The Darvaza gas crater, known as “The Door to Hell,” is a 196 feet wide and 65 feet deep hole in the Karakum desert in Turkmenistan. The fire, fueled by natural gas, has been burning for the last 38 years, not by a natural occurrence, but instead, as a result of a Soviet gas exploration accident. Geologists accidentally tapped into a massive underground natural gas cavern, causing the ground to collapse and the entire drilling rig to fall in. In order to protect the locals and prevent intoxication from poisonous gas, the geologists decided it best to light the gas on fire and burn it away. On a dark night, you can see the burning hole from miles away.
