The Door to Hell EarthCache
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A burning crater near Darvaza, Turkmenistan, is called "The Door to
Hell" by the locals.
Darvaza and the burning gas crater are located in the central area
of Turkmenistan, about 260 km north of Turkmenistan’s capital
city Ashgabat.
It was during rule of Soviet Russia, back in 1971 when geologists
were conducting gas drilling in Kara-Kum desert and discovered an
underground chamber close to the village of Darvaza. The discovery
of the chamber was accidental and resulted in drilling rig
collapsing, leaving giant gas crater filled with poisonous gases
exposed to the world outside. The concentration of gases within the
crater was high so nobody dared to go down there. It was then when
someone came with an idea to light the gas in the crater on fire so
as to burn it before the poisonous fumes engulf the nearby town of
Darvaza.
The geologists thought the idea of burning the gas was smart and
went ahead with lighting the crater on fire. As it turns out, the
supply of quality natural gas below the crater is near infinite as
the crater’s been burning since. The gas crater in Darvaza is
still burning and has been since 1971 without interruption. No one
can even imagine how much quality natural gas was burnt throughout
the 38 years of the crater being on fire. No one can estimate how
much more gas there still is. When they first lit the gas crater on
fire, they thought the fire would go out after a few days.
It’s been decades and the gas crater is burning just as it
did the day it was first lit.
WARNING! Don't go to close and don't stay to much near the crater
because of the almost unbreakable temperature
To log this Earth Cache
1. Take a photo of yourself and your GPS near to the crater.
Answer by email the following questions
2. What is the approximate diameter and the depth of the
crater?
3. How meters long is the biggest flame you can see?
4. How big is the area around the crater without vegetation?
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)