The Darvaza gas crater, also known as the "Door to Hell", is one of Turkmenistan's major tourist attractions. It is a natural gas fissure that has been burning for fifty years. The fire is burning 20 meters high in a fissure with a diameter of about 69 meters in the middle of the desert. The reason why this fissure is known as the Door to Hell is because of the fire, smoke, and heat.
When Turkmenistan was part of the Soviet Union, an expedition was conducted to see if there was petroleum in the Karakum Desert. In 1971, Soviet engineers who were digging for petroleum were able to find natural gas. Shortly after discovering natural gas, the pit was dug and deadly gases including methane were released. After this, the engineers who ended the expedition set fire to eliminate the deadly gases. Although they expected it to burn for two weeks, the fire is still burning. This is estimated to be one of the largest natural gas reserves in the world.
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