In the middle of the Karakum desert in Turkmenistan, travellers often come across a large molten crater that could easily be mistaken for an active volcano. This burning pit of fire is not caused by any magma chamber though and is actually a natural gas field that was first discovered in 1971 and has been burning ever since. When Soviet engineers first came across the site they believed it was a rich oil field. When they started drilling operations, and discovered it was in fact a natural gas site, they were so concerned that the gases could be poisonous to the locals that they decided to burn them off. The fire was expected to last a few weeks but has now been burning for almost half a century! The flames and heat became so fierce that the locals named the pit ‘The door to Hell!’ The large crater measures 70m wide by 20m deep and has now become a popular tourist attraction in Turkmenistan.
