Turkmenistan’s “Gate of Hell” Crater: Burning for 40 Years Without Explanation

Fires typically consume fuel over hours, days, or even weeks. However, certain underground fossil fuel deposits can sustain a blaze for decades.

The gas crater in Darvaza, famously known as the “Gate of Hell,” has been burning for a remarkable 40 years within a 60-meter-wide (196 feet) pit located in Turkmenistan’s Karakham Desert.

The crater’s origin is a topic of debate. Some claim it resulted from an unauthorized Soviet gas drilling operation in the 1970s that inadvertently trapped an underground pocket of natural gas; others believe it was formed naturally in the 1960s.

Regardless of its origins, geologists detected methane leaking from the crater and attempted to ignite the gas to prevent environmental disasters. They expected it to extinguish within weeks, yet it has continued to burn for decades.

This crater sits atop extensive oil and gas fields that traverse Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, likely linked to a vast underground reservoir of methane, which fuels the fire almost indefinitely.

In 2013, Canadian explorer George Crunis embarked on an expedition to study the crater. Dressed in a heat-resistant suit, he descended to the crater’s depths to collect soil samples and found simple organisms capable of surviving in the extreme conditions at the bottom.

While the Gate of Hell may be the most famous fire, it is not the oldest. Underground coal seams can sustain fires for centuries.

One coal fire beneath Mount Wingen in Australia has been ablaze for over 5,000 years. Such fires might continue indefinitely until the vast underground fuel supply is depleted.

This article addresses the question posed by Dennis McCann of Derby: “What are the Gates of Hell, and why do they keep burning?”

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