In 1971, Soviets accidentally punctured a natural gas cavern. The 100m firepit has been burning for 40 years.
In the hot, expansive Karakum desert in Turkmenistan, near the 350 person village of Derweze, is a hole 328 feet wide that has been on fire since 1971.
This hole is known as the Darvaza Gas Crater or the Gates of Hell by locals. The crater can be seen glowing for miles around.
In 1971 a Soviet drilling rig accidentally punched into a massive underground natural gas cavern, causing the ground to collapse and the entire drilling rig to fall in.
Having punctured a pocket of gas, poisonous fumes began leaking from the hole at an alarming rate.
To head off a potential environmental catastrophe, the Soviets set the hole alight.
The crater hasn't stopped burning since.
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