The Burning Gates

In this week's Soviet Disaster Corner, I humbly present the Burning Crater of Darvaza.



(Note the tourists for scale) Located in the middle of a Turkmenistan desert, this giant burning hole is the result of natural gas prospecting undertaken by the Soviets in 1971. When they accidentally stumbled across a huge pocket of natural gas, their drilling rig collapsed creating the crater in the process. To avoid the gas killing everyone/everything around, they set the hole on fire. It has been continuously alight for almost 37 years with no signs of burning out.



The locals like to call this "The Burning Gates" and "The Door to Hell." Suuuure the Soviets were drilling for natural gas, instead of OPENING A LINK TO HELL AND CALLING FORTH THE DEMONS OF THE APOCALYPSE TO END THE COLD WAR WITH THEIR SOUL-CONSUMING FIRES OF DOOM.