Darvaza
Darvaza Location in Turkmenistan
Coordinates: 40°11′N 58°24′E / 40.183, 58.4
Country	‎ Turkmenistan
Province	Ahal Province

Darvaza (Turkmen language: The Gate) is a Turkmenistan village of about 350 inhabitants, located in the middle of the Kara-Kum desert, about 260 km north from Ashgabat. Wikipedia talkFeatured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->This list of countries, arranged alphabetically Turkmenistan ( Türkmenistan; also known as Turkmenia) is a Turkic country in Central Asia. Turkmenistan is divided into 5 provinces or welayatlar (singular Welayat) and one independent city ( şäher) See also Ahal Province (Ahal welaýaty Ахал велаяты is one of the Welayatlar (provinces of Turkmenistan. Turkmen ( Latin script: türkmen Cyrillic: түркмен ISO 639 -1 tk ISO 639-2 tuk is the name of the national language of Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( Türkmenistan; also known as Turkmenia) is a Turkic country in Central Asia. The Karakum Desert, also spelled Kara-Kum and Gara Gum (“Black Sand” ( Turkmen: Garagum, Russian: Каракумы) Ashgabat ( Aşgabat in Turkmen) (or formerly Ashkhabad or Poltoratsk is the Capital and largest city of Turkmenistan, a country in

Darvaza inhabitants are mostly Turkmen of the Teke tribe, preserving an half-nomadic lifestyle.

The "Gates of Hell"

Photo of a burning crater (The Burning Gates) in Darvaza, Turkmenistan by John H. Bradley.

Darvaza underground is naturally rich in natural gas. Natural gas is a Gaseous Fossil fuel consisting primarily of Methane but including significant quantities of Ethane, Propane, In 1971, during a drilling, geologists accidentally found an underground cavern filled with natural gas. The ground on which the drilling rig was placed collapsed, leaving a large gaping hole exposed with a diameter of about 50-100 meters. To avoid poisonous gases coming out of the hole, it was decided to let the gases burn. As of 2008, gases in the underground cavern are still burning without interruption. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common

See also

• Mine fire
• List of cities, towns and villages in Turkmenistan

External links

• Photos from the Darvaza Gas Crater or "Gates of Hell"
• Tourist information for Darvaza
• Flaming Crater, Darvaza Turkmenistan 1/6 - Phillips Connor at YouTube