Derweze
Derweze go, Дарваза (in Russian) | |
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Coordinates: 40°15′09.48″N 58°26′21.93″E / 40.2526333°N 58.4394250°E | |
Country | Turkmenistan |
Province | Ahal Province |
District | Ak bugdaý District |
Population (1989 census) | |
• Total | 1,683 |
Darvaza (from Persian: دروازه, Turkmen: Derweze) is a rural council (village council) in Ak bugdaý District, Ahal Province, Turkmenistan of about 2 thousand inhabitants, located in the middle of the Karakum Desert, about 260 km north of Ashgabat. The rural council consists of three separate villages: Derweze (formerly Aeroport) (the administrative center), Ataguýy, and Böri. [1]
Darvaza's inhabitants are mostly Turkmen of the Teke tribe, preserving a semi-nomadic lifestyle. In 2004 the village was disbanded following the order of the President of Turkmenistan, Saparmurat Niyazov, because "it was an unpleasant sight for tourists."[ citation needed] The village was reestablished, by the renaming of "Aeroport" village to Derweze on 28 April 2016. [2]
The Darvaza area is served by the Ashgabat-Dashoguz Automobile Highway and the Içoguz station on the Trans-Karakum Railway. A landing strip for small cargo aircraft is located at the village of Derweze. [3]
The Darvaza area is rich in natural gas. While drilling in 1971, Soviet geologists tapped into a cavern filled with natural gas. [4] [5] The ground beneath the drilling rig collapsed, leaving a large hole with a diameter of 70 metres (230 ft) at 40°15′10″N 58°26′22″E / 40.25264°N 58.43941°E. The fire may have originated from a local Soviet decision to avoid poisonous gas discharge, by burning off the gas, [6] [7] and while geologists had hoped the fire would consume the fuel in a few days, the gas is still burning fifty years later.
Locals have named the crater the "Door to Hell". [8]