The "Door to Hell"

[Jacques]

Here's another accident which happenned in 1971 and is still on.

The Derweze area is rich in natural gas. While drilling in 1971 geologists accidentally found an underground cavern filled with natural gas.[1] The ground beneath the drilling rig collapsed, leaving a large hole with a diameter of about 50–100 meters at 40°15′10″N 58°26′22″E / 40.25264°N 58.43941°E / 40.25264; 58.43941 (The Door to Hell). To avoid poisonous gas discharge, it was decided to burn the gas.[2] Geologists had hoped the fire would go out in a few days but it has been burning ever since. Locals have named the cavern The Door to Hell.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derweze

More pictures: http://johnhbradley.com/pictures2.asp?var=070707darvaza

 

[Bluestar]

Sheesh. Very scary. I have thought about them burning this oil off in the Gulf and that it would never go out. In the 1969's The Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught fire because it was so polluted. Human beings think they can control nature. That they have a handle on all of this. We don't.

This has been burning for almost 30 years!!!

 

[RyanX]

That's a lot of methane if the thing has burned continuously since 1971.

 

[Laura]

Something like that burning for 30 years and nobody is asking whether or not that is a good thing, or what that is doing to the environment???

 

[Laura]

Geeze, I put the coordinates in Google earth and darned if it isn't right there! It's Turkmenistan for those that don't know. There's all kinds of little tags that you can click and see photos, too, if you zoom in close.

 

[Guardian]

Geeze, I put the coordinates in Google earth and darned if it isn't right there! It's Turkmenistan for those that don't know. There's all kinds of little tags that you can click and see photos, too, if you zoom in close.

Years ago I remember hearing they were going to try to "harness the heat" and convert it to energy, but it looks like that never happened....which is probably a good thing

 

[Gonzo]

This reminds me of the multitude of underground coal seam and peat fires burning around the world.

I recall a story about one fire in Centralia, Pennsylvania, US, that has been burning since the 60s. China apparently has some of the biggest uncontrolled coal fires, representing anywhere from .5 to 10 percent of their overall coal consumption. The effects on the environment have never been well studied.

Gonzo

 

[RyanX]

This reminds me of the multitude of underground coal seam and peat fires burning around the world.

I recall a story about one fire in Centralia, Pennsylvania, US, that has been burning since the 60s. China apparently has some of the biggest uncontrolled coal fires, representing anywhere from .5 to 10 percent of their overall coal consumption. The effects on the environment have never been well studied.

Gonzo

It also reminds me of mud volcanoes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mud_volcano

[quote author=Wikipedia]A mud volcano may be the result of a piercement structure created by a pressurized mud diapir which breaches the Earth's surface or ocean bottom. Temperatures may be as low as the freezing point of ejected materials, particularly when venting is associated with the creation of hydrocarbon clathrate hydrate deposits.

Mud volcanoes are often associated with petroleum deposits and tectonic subduction zones and orogenic belts; hydrocarbon gases are often erupted. They are also often associated with lava volcanoes; in the case of such close proximity, mud volcanoes emit incombustible gases including helium, whereas lone mud volcanoes are more likely to emit methane.[/quote]

These sometimes flare up too:

_http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1626310.stm

 

[Seamus]

I think they used the last picture of the "Door to Hell" as a model when they designed the Diablo computer games I played in high school.

Here is the wikipedia entry for Centralia, PA:

_http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia,_Pennsylvania

The fire has been burning continuously since 1962.