The Desert of Karakum and Its Stunning Gate of Hell

The Karakum Desert is a vast place of dunes and arid steppes that keep a secret in Turkmenistan, a molten gas well that expels fire of 70 meters of diameter and 20 meters of depth, the so-called crater Darvaza, best known in the world as “Puerta del Inferno”. Karakum occupies approximately 70% of the territory of Turkmenistan, and its name means “black sand”. It extends for more than 350,000 km2, north of the Amu Daria River and south of the Ara…