The Darvaza gas crater is a burning natural gas field collapsed into a cavern near Darvaza, Turkmenistan. Nicknamed the “Gates of Hell,” the crater has a diameter of 230 feet (70 meters) and a depth of about 66 feet (20 meters). How the crater formed and ignited remains unknown, but it is believed to have been purposefully lit in the 1980s to prevent emission of poisonous gases. In 2022, then Turkmen President announced plans to extinguish it.
