Derweze crater

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Coordinates: 40 ° 15 ′ 9 ″  N , 58 ° 26 ′ 22 ″  E

Map: Turkmenistan
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Derweze crater
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Turkmenistan

The Door to Hell is in the desert Karakum near the village Derweze in Turkmenistan . It was created in 1971 while looking for gas deposits. Since the crater has been on fire since 1971 due to the escaping gas, locals have given the hole the name Gate to Hell ( Turkmen Jähenneme açylan gapy , Russian Врата Ада Wrata Ada or Дверь в преисподнюю Dwer w preispodnjuju ; German  Tor zur Unterweltju ).

history

Burning crater
Panoramic view of the crater on site (2011)

The Derweze area is rich in natural gas . During drilling in 1971, geologists accidentally found an underground cave filled with natural gas. The ground below the drilling platform collapsed, creating a large hole about 70 meters in diameter.

In order to avoid the release of the toxic gas, it was decided to burn it. Contrary to the original hope of the geologists, the fire did not go out after a few days, but is still active.

In addition to capturing the methane gas, burning it is safer and more environmentally friendly than releasing it into the atmosphere. Methane has a significantly higher global warming potential than its combustion product, carbon dioxide .

As Turkmenistan plans to increase its production of natural gas, the President of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow , visited the hole in April 2010 and ordered it to be closed or other measures to be taken to influence the development of other natural gas fields in the country Reduce environment.

See also

Web links

Commons : Gasfeuer von Derweze  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Jeremy Kressmann: Turkmenistan's "Door to Hell" - travel blog Gadling , March 25, 2008
  2. www 20minuten ch, 20minutes, 20min.ch: The «Gate to Hell» has been burning for 48 years. Retrieved March 10, 2020 .
  3. IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (PDF; 8.0 MB)
  4. ト ル ク メ ニ ス タ ン で 40 年 間 燃 え る 「地獄 の 門」 、 大 統領 が 封鎖 指示 . In: Reuters . April 21, 2010 (Japanese, reuters.com [accessed April 14, 2019]).