Getting to the crater is an off-road ride and drivers frequently get lost or get stuck in the dunes. The Darvaza gas crater, in Turkmenistan’s Karakum Desert, is a great tear in the earth, 30m (98ft) deep and 70m (230ft) across.Uncovered by the Soviets, it has burned for decades, and locals know it as ‘the Door to Hell’. No one really knows what followed, there have been no official public reports on the matter, but it is currently thought that the enthusiastic scientists, having found oil and gas, began to drill immediately. It widely reaches dune crests, underlain by rock, a few hundred metres above sea level. There is no one around to give directions, so make sure you go with somebody who knows the way. [citation needed] Hydrography. To the south the Murghab and Tejen rivers flow out of the Hindu Kush Mountains, flow west, and empty into the desert, providing water for irrigation. All rights reserved. The Darvaza gas crater, also called the "Door to Hell" or the "Gates of Hell" by locals, a crater of natural gas that has been burning since 1971, is located in the Karakum Desert. They had stumbled on a cavern and created a sinkhole more than 60 metres in diameter and 20 metres deep. Karakumy, IPA: [kərɐˈkumɨ]), is a desert in Central Asia. As explained in a new video from YouTube channel SciShow, in 1971 Soviet scientists began explored the Karakum desert search of [citation needed]. The Darvaza gas craters are located in the heart of the vast and remote Karakum Desert. Even in daylight you may get lost – it’s much better to pay for a tour. There have been rumours for years that the burning gas crater will be put out to enable gas exploration in the area, but it was still burning in 2017. It sits east of the Caspian Sea which has a steep east bank. The desert is crossed by the second largest irrigation canal in the world, the Karakum Canal, which brings water from the Amu Darya to southern regions of the desert. There are no hotels in the area, but most of the chaikhanas that line the main road just north of the turnoff to the crater offer beds for the night, provide meals and even sell petrol. I want emails from Lonely Planet with travel and product information, promotions, advertisements, third-party offers, and surveys. Within the Karakum are the Uly Balkan, a mountain range in which archaeologists have found human remains dating back to the Stone Age. Karakum Desert, also spelled Kara-Kum, Turkmen Garagum or Gara Gum (“Black Sand”), Russian Karakumy, great sandy region in Central Asia.It occupies about 70 percent of the area of Turkmenistan.Another, smaller desert in Kazakhstan near the Aral Sea is called the Aral Karakum. [1] It is 1,375 km in length, and carries 13-20 km³ of water annually.[1]. The desert is crossed by the Trans-Caspian Railway. If you intend to walk from the road, think twice. The Karakum Desert is home to the Darvaza Gas Crater. "Man-made natural phenomenon" might sound like a contradiction, but hear us out. The three craters are artificial. As explained in a new video from YouTube channel SciShow, in 1971 Soviet scientists began explored the Karakum desert search of oil and gas. As the latter, which had been formed by the earlier Khvalinian period, overflowed northwards it carved its link with the Aral Sea along the Akcha Dar'ya population corridor of that low, gentle valley (a remote community of Western Uzbekistan and north-east Turkmenistan).[4]. The area has significant oil and natural gas deposits. The population is sparse, with an average of one person per 6.5 km² (2.5 square miles). The Darvaza gas crater, also known as 'The Door to Hell' and 'The Crater of Fire', is a jaw-dropping man-made natural phenomenon in the Karakum Desert of Turkmenistan. In the late Pleistocene, the Amu Dar'ya used to flow beyond the Aral Basin to Sarykamysh Lake then to the Caspian Sea. © 2020 Lonely Planet. The sea has fluctuated over millennia. [a] This refers to the shale-rich sand generally beneath the sand of much of the desert. [1] It occupies about 70 percent, 350,000 km², of Turkmenistan. Located in the Karakum Desert of central Turkmenistan (a little over 150 miles from the country's capital) the pit attracts hundreds of tourists each year. If coming from Ashgabat, the turnoff for the crater is about 1km before the railway line, and the chaikhanas are a few kilometres afterwards. [3], Within the north-west edge of the desert used to be a river. It's a popular tourist spot these days, because, well, it's a big burning crater of fire. The Darvaza gas crater, also known as 'The Door to Hell' and 'The Crater of Fire', is a jaw-dropping man-made natural phenomenon in the Karakum Desert of Turkmenistan. There are many photos and videos on the internet of ‘Door to hell’ (also known as the Gate to Hell, the Crater of Fire, Darvaza/ Darwaza /Derweze) Crater), where you can watch fire erupting in the middle of the desert. [2], The desert covers most of Turkmenistan, a long east-west swathe. The oases of Mary and Tejen are noted for cotton growing. It is in the middle of the Karakum Desert, about 260 kilometres (160 mi) north of Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan. Getting to the crater require off-road driving and it’s easy to get lost or stuck in the dunes. The area has significant oil and natural gas deposits. Rainfall is also sparse, ranging from 70 to 150 mm per year. "Man-made natural phenomenon" might sound like a contradiction, but hear us out. No part of this site may be reproduced without our written permission. The delta is that of the Amu Dar'ya river to the northeast demarcating the long border with the Kyzyl Kum desert, of Uzbekistan. The two flows merged and formed or expanded Horezm Lake. There is a naturally sheltered camping place behind the small hill, just south of the crater. Sedimentation and floods during a pluvial period led to overflow to the Zeravshan River valley to the east. It is still alight to this day, and has a terrible eggy smell because of the hydrogen sulphide in the ground. In decades since the early 1980s, the relatively small desert extension the "Aral Karakum" occupies most of the former seabed of the Aral Sea, about 15,440 sq mi/40,000 km². More: Here are 24 phenomena which prove nature is actually marvellous, Here are 24 phenomena which prove nature is actually marvellous, Show{{#moreThan3}} {{value_total}}{{/moreThan3}} comments. The crater is a major tourist attraction, with hundreds of visitors arriving each year.[5]. As there are no signposts for either the turnoff or the chaikhanas; look out for the train line crossing the main road. Darvaza Gas Crater - the Natural Wonder of the Karakum. Rainfall in the Karakum desert is rare, with only 70 to 150 mm rain per year, with my luck did I get about half of the annual rain during my visit. One of Turkmenistan’s most unusual sights, the Darvaza Gas Craters are the result of Soviet-era gas exploration in the 1970s. The Karakum Desert is home to the Darvaza Gas Crater. The Karakum Desert, which covers about 70%,(350,000 km²), of the area of Turkmenistan, is the home to the strange human-made natural site. Getting to the crater is an off-road ride and drivers frequently get lost or get stuck in the dunes. This released a lot of methane, which the scientists presumably decided to burn off, thinking it would only take a few weeks. Of the three, the fire crater is the most impressive, and it’s best seen at night, when the blazing inferno can only be compared to the gates of hell. It adjoins, to north, the long delta feeding the South Aral Sea further north, another endorheic lake, about 58 metres higher than the Caspian Sea. I can unsubscribe any time using the unsubscribe link at the end of all emails. The North Aral Sea was restoring to a statis in 2009 but the South Aral Sea ebbed to a small-size stasis at its river mouth. Coordinates: 40°30′N 60°00′E / 40.500°N 60.000°E / 40.500; 60.000, An illustration of the breadth of the meaning of this word is the lake to the west, a saline lagoon of the Caspian Sea, the, "Karakum Desert -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia", "This Hellish Desert Pit Has Been On Fire for More Than 40 Years", TravelBlog Darvasa Craters: Entrance to Hell, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Karakum_Desert&oldid=985180957, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing Turkmen-language text, Articles containing Russian-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2017, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 24 October 2020, at 13:09. The Karakum Desert, also spelled Kara-Kum and Gara-Gum (Turkmen: Garagum, pronounced [ɡɑɾɑˈɡʊm]; Russian: Караку́мы, tr. The sands of the Aral Karakum are made up of a salt-marsh consisting of finely-dispersed evaporites and remnants of alkaline mineral deposits, washed into the basin from irrigated fields. Its majority loss during Soviet Union existence coinciding with great irrigation projects. One has been set alight and blazes with an incredible strength that’s visible from miles away, while the other two contain bubbling mud and water. To the south the Murghab and Tejen rivers flow out of the Hindu Kush Mountains, flow west, and empty into the desert, providing water for irrigation. Most people visit on a tour. There is a naturally sheltered camping place behind the small hill, just south of the crater. While the walk only takes two hours through the dunes, you’ll have to spend the night here, as finding your way back to the road without the reference of a huge burning crater is very hard. And, if you’re intrepid enough, you can visit. Its second word means sand; its first is a contraction of garaňky: "dark" or may pre-date that (be a derivation from a likely broader meaning which the word for black bore: gara) in this language family. [1] Construction on the canal was started in 1954 and completed in 1958. The gas crater is located near the village of Derweze, also known as Darvaza. Of the three, the fire crater is the most impressive, and it’s best seen at night, when the blazing inferno can only be compared to the gates of hell. The gas reserve found here is one of the largest in the world. There are no hotels in the area, most visitors camp in sheltered areas around the crater. I traveled to Darvaza as part of an overlanding trip with Oasis Overland.
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