One of the world’s great mysteries, the Darvaza Crater or “Door to Hell” in Turkmenistan is said to have occurred some fifty years ago when the ground above a Soviet drilling rig gave way to form a sink hole. The story goes that the scientists involved suggested that the hole be set alight to burn off any noxious gases, thereby starting a contained fire which continues to burn to this day—an extraordinary sight amid an otherwise stark landscape, as evidenced in this beautiful photograph by Carolyn Drake.
