Burning crater (6 photos)

The road here lies through the Karakum Desert, which means "black sands" Darwaza - the "door". Thus, the "door of the desert in the midst of black sand" - inspires. Besides shepherds and camels grazing in the open, no one is here for dozens of kilometers around. The nearest village Erbent 90 kilometers.



There are very real doors to the underworld. From giant burning gas boiler breaks. Nothing Once inside can not get out. Any living creature doomed. Once in the afterlife through the "door", no one can escape. Humming and bursting with hot air crater 60 and 20 meters deep. The gas comes from the pores of the earth, separated by hundreds of different-sized burning torches. In some torches flames reach 10-15 meters in height.



The origin of this fascinating spectacle rather prosaically: in 1971 there were drilling an exploration well on the gas and ran into an underground cavern. Drilling rig with all the equipment and transport failed. People are, thank God, were not injured. From man-made crater went natural gas. To stop poisoning people and livestock, natural gas burned. Since then, the now 37 years old, unquenchable burning torches. How long since burned billion cubic meters of valuable natural resources, no one knows.



Most interestingly, nearby are two more similar failure of the same origin. These craters are off, the pressure of the gas is much weaker. At the bottom of a crater - bubbling liquid mud light gray on the bottom of another - a cool brine amazing turquoise.





Experts say that with the help of directional drilling from the denser parts of two of the three treacherous deposits can be exploited (apparently, are industrial stocks - in particular, the gas lies fairly close to the ground). By the way, not far from the fiery crater has several well preserved remains of a wellhead, and then bring them into the system is not difficult. But in an area with "turquoise" lake, where permitted in the formation of water-gas contact, mining, apparently, is no longer possible.





Photo: John Bradley (John Bradley)