hello to everyone! I hope everything is going well for you. This blog is a continuation of the series "Want to Travel in the World of Mysteries?" This blog is about the enigmatic location known as the Door to Hell. I hope you enjoy it.

The Darvaza gas crater, often known as the Door to Hell, is a rare geological phenomenon in Turkmenistan. It is a massive crater that has been continually burning for almost 50 years, earning it the moniker "The Door to Hell." The crater was formed as a result of an unsuccessful drilling operation in 1971.

Hundreds of natural gas fires illuminate the crater's floor and notably its rim. The crater has been blazing for an unknown amount of time, as it is uncertain how the crater developed and ignited.

The early years of the crater's existence remain unknown. Relevant records are either missing, classified, or inaccessible in the archives. According to some local geologists, the crater formed in the 1960s and was only lit on fire in the 1980s to avoid the release of toxic gases. According to some, the site was dug as an oil field by Soviet engineers in 1971 but collapsed within days, leaving the crater, with the engineers opting to flare the crater to minimize the discharge of hazardous gases but underestimating the volume of the gas.

Keeping the fire under control
President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow urged in April 2010 that steps be taken to prevent the crater's impact on the development of other natural gas reserves in the area. Berdimuhamedow announced plans to burn the crater in January 2022, claiming harmful effects on local and natural health, as well as losses in the natural gas business. A commission was formed to determine the best technique. The crater remains open, despite Berdimuhamedow's plans.

Tourism:

The crater has become a modest tourist attraction in post-Soviet Turkmenistan, possibly boosted in part by the region's designation as a natural reserve in 2013. A rough road with no signpost leads out to the crater, where yurts have been erected up. The Amul-Hazar automobile rally used the gas crater as an overnight break in 2018. Berdimuhamedow emerged on state television in 2019 to dispel rumours of his death by performing doughnut pranks around the crater.

Exploration:

George Kourounis was the first person to step foot in the crater's bottom in 2013, collecting soil samples for the Extreme Microbiome Project. Kourounis used a custom-made Kevlar harness that was connected to multiple Technora ropes that were connected to a full body aluminized suit with a self-contained breathing system. He has now expressed a desire to return to the crater with more equipment to further profile the local ecology.

That's it for now. See you in my next blog, which will contain some intriguing riddles. Don't forget to leave a comment if you have any suggestions for unusual locales or your thoughts on my site.