Random Things about this Pit Has Been On Fire For More Than 40 Years And Just Might Be A Hellmouth (10 items)

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  (#1) An Insatiable Thirst For Oil Caused The Pit To Open

  In 1971, Turkmenistan was still part of the Soviet Union, and the USSR was (and still is) heavily reliant on fossil fuels. Because of this, the Soviets did everything in their power to dredge oil and natural gas out of their lands. The Russians believed that the incredible expanse of the Karakum Desert concealed a bounty of oil beneath its dunes, so they sent a team of drillers and engineers to determine if their hunch was correct. Unfortunately, they were dead wrong. 

  The team unknowingly set up their camp — including a ton of heavy drilling equipment — right on top of a large pocket of natural gas. When they reached that pocket of gas, all Hell broke loose. Once there was a clear path for the gas to escape, the ground underneath them collapsed, and swallowed up the entire site. The only remains were a few feet of scrap metal that are still visible today.
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  (#2) The Doorway To Hell Glows In The Dark

  
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  (#3) When Engineers Started The Fires, They Didn't Realize The Blaze Would Never Stop Burning

  After their camp was consumed by the Earth, the engineers realized that they had a serious problem on their hands. In addition to having possibly angered a sleeping demon, the methane gas they accidentally uncorked was rapidly seeping out into the atmosphere.

  Nowadays, people are aware that methane gas is a greenhouse gas, and that its emission into the atmosphere perpetuates global warming. While scientists weren't very concerned about climate change in the '70s, they were aware that the gas could potenitally cause fiery explosions.

  On average, the concentration of methane in the Earth's air stays locked at around 0.00017%. Once it reaches 5%, the likelihood of a methane-based fireball becomes uncomfortably high. As the pit continued to pump an incredible amount of methane into the atmosphere, the scientists were faced with a choice: leave it alone, or set it on fire.

  Pragmatic as they were, the team set the site ablaze, believing that the pocket of gas would run out in a matter of weeks. While this is a fairly common practice for natural gas miners, this particular gas reserve seemed bottomless; nearly 50 years later, the fire is still burning. 
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  (#4) The Darvaza Gas Crater Is Still Terrifying During Daylight Hours

  
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  (#5) The Accident Caused Several Craters To Open Up In The Desert

  When engineers drilled into the Karakum Desert in 1971, they were expecting oil to gush out of the Earth, bringing riches to their homeland of Russia. Instead, what they got was a pit that devoured their equipment without warning.

  By puncturing the Earth and letting the gas escape, the team unknowingly caused a chain reaction deep beneath the desert's surface. The pockets of methane gas were presumably linked to one another, and when one of the bubbles burst, the surrounding pockets emptied through the newly made hole.

  In addition to adding fuel to the fire,  the release of gas caused several more massive craters to form, similar to the one that swallowed up the team's campsite. Two craters are especially noteworthy: one’s filled with water, and the other contains boiling mud and embers.
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  (#6) A Team Staged An Expedition To The Bottom Of The Fiery Pit

  Canadian explorer and adventurer George Kourounis took one look at the Doorway to Hell and decided that he wanted to see what was at the bottom. In 2013, he brought his crew — along with plenty of fireproof equipment — right to Satan’s front door. Kourounis's adventure had several motivating factors, the primary one being that he wanted to search for signs of underground life. 

  As it turns out, the space beneath the crater was home to several microscopic species. Upon investigating the theoretically inhospitable ground, the team discovered that the earth was rich enough to house bacterial. In an interview with National Geographic, Kourounis described his team's experience: 

  “Well, we were hoping to find signs of microbial life-forms that are thriving in the hot, methane-rich environment. Even if we found nothing, it still would have been a valid result and the expedition would have been worthwhile. But we were very fortunate. We did find some bacteria living at the bottom that are very comfortable living in those high temperatures, and the most important thing was that they were not found in any of the surrounding soil outside of the crater.”
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  (#7) It’s Said That Thousands Of Spiders Are Drawn To Their Deaths By The Pit's Flames

  Tens of thousands of organisms have visited the Doorway to Hell, and not all of them are human. It has been reported that hundreds — if not thousands — of spiders have died climbing down into the crater. Allegedly, the creatures are attracted to the glow of the flames. Others posit that the animals are interested in nesting close to the crater's heat. While both these theories are backed by convincing evidence, it's also possible that the spiders are simply returning to the depths from whence they came.
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  (#8) The Pit Is Large Enough To Be Seen From Space

  The Darvaza gas crater measures 226 feet wide, which is about the length of five semi trucks. On top of its girth, the crater is also 98 feet deep (roughly the height of a 10-story building). It’s so large that people standing on the far side of it look like specks of dirt, and it's clearly visible from space.

  George Kourounis — the adventurer who led an expedition to the bottom of the crater —talked a bit about how the crater's size humbled him:

  “There were a few moments that I just literally had to stop, look around, and drink in the spectacle of where I was. I could see my teammates up on the crater rim, just these tiny specks lit by this fire. You feel very, very small and very vulnerable in a place like that.”
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  (#9) The Darvaza Gas Crater Isn’t The Only Doorway To Hell

  As it turns out, there are a variety of paths that one can take to reach Hell. The ancient Greeks believed that five rivers led into the underworld, and that they all converged at a great marsh. One of those rivers is Acheron, the river of woe, which actually exists in Northwestern Greece. If you want to reach Hades, you just need to find yourself the proper boatman.

  Another such gateway into Hell is the stratovolcano Hekla in Southern Iceland. In the 12th century, the monk Benedict of Nursia described it as the “eternal prison of Judas” in one of his written works. Then, in the 14th century, it was noted that birds often flew into the volcano’s crater, and many believed the animals carried the souls of the dead into Hell.

  The Ghost City of Fengdu sits atop China's Ming Mountain.There, the deceased have to pass three tests, and if they fail even one, they will be sent straight to Hell to wander for all eternity. 
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  (#10) Turkmenistan Is One Of The World’s Most Oppressive And Isolated Countries

  Turkmenistan is widely known for several things: the country is among the top producers of natural gas in the world, it used to be part of the Soviet Union, and it is incredibly difficult to cross its borders. Although North Korea is known for being the most isolated country on Earth, Turkmenistan is a pretty close second.

  In addition to the countries' strict migration policies, Turkmenistan also shares North Korea’s repressive nature. Its citizens are heavily monitored and controlled, and the government keeps news outlets on a tight leash. Those who attempt to organize against the ruling regime are regularly imprisoned under false charges. 

  In an interesting twist, Turkmenistan opened up its borders a bit in 2014, specifically so that more tourists could experience the Darvaza Crater for themselves. Today, those interested in the Doorway to Hell can visit the abyss without dealing with a massive bureaucratic nightmare. 

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