Hell's Door - Darvaza,Turkmenistan

Located in the Kara-Kum desert of Turkmenistan is the village of Darvaza (Derweze) near to where, in 1971, a team of Soviet prospectors allegedly drilled into a large chamber filled with natural gas. The roof of the cavern collapsed leaving a crater-like sinkhole some 25 metres deep with a diameter of approximately 60 - 70 metres. It soon became evident that natural gas was still rising into the crater from even deeper sources and the story goes that the decision was made to ignite the emissions rather than risk either a concentrated build-up of gas or local poisoning. According to various sources it has burned continuously since then and has apparently been named “The Gate to Hell” by the local people. However, another source...

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Blue Holes, Bahamas

The Great Blue Hole is located in the Light House Reef and lies 60 miles from the Island of Belize. In 1997 it was designated as a World Heritage site. Found on both land and in the ocean throughout the Bahamas are deep circular cavities known as Blue Holes which are often the entrances to cave networks, some of them up to 14 kilometres in length. Divers have reported a vast number of aquatic creatures some of which are still new to science. In addition, they’ve recorded chambers filled with stalactites and stalagmites which only form in dry caves. For the explorers this was proof that at one time, nearly 65,000 years ago, when the world was in the grip of the last major ice age, the sea level of the Bahamas was up to 150 metres...

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Las Cañadas, Tenerife

We wonder how many of those sex and surf tourists look at the mountain that overshadows popular party places like Playas Las Americas and ever wonder – “Will it be today?” Las Cañadas caldera, Mount Teide – Not dead just sleeping! Las Cañadas caldera, located at the central part of Tenerife, Canary Islands, is a large volcanic depression (16 x 9 km). The caldera is opened to the sea at the north side and filled by continuous layers of lava flows and fall deposits. These volcanic deposits form a good hydrogeological trap which is the largest ground water reserve of the island. In comparison, the basement of the caldera has low permeability. Numerous galleries (horizontal drains) intercept the Las Cañadas aquifer. During the last century,...

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