The Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan is known for the Darvaza gas crater, nicknamed the “Door to Hell.”
The Karakum, whose name means “black sand,” covers much of Turkmenistan. Its surface includes sandy plains, dunes, salt flats, and dry channels. Despite the harsh environment, settlements and irrigation agriculture occur around oases and along the Amu Darya and the Karakum Canal.
The Darvaza crater formed after a Soviet-era drilling accident in 1971 caused the ground to collapse into an underground gas cavity. Engineers set the escaping gas alight, expecting it to burn out quickly. The flames continued for decades, making the crater a famous but human-made landmark rather than a natural volcanic feature.
The Karakum is sometimes confused with the neighboring Kyzylkum, or “red sands,” which lies mainly between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya. Those are separate deserts divided broadly by the Amu Darya.