00:00The Sahara Desert looks like a golden sea from above. We see endless dunes, many
00:07blue and green oases, and a huge black spot that covers an area of 17,000 square
00:15miles. Wait, what? What is it? It's a pretty gigantic territory, but why have
00:21we rarely heard of it and never seen it in movies or documentaries? Perhaps it
00:27appeared recently. Oh no, this black spot is millions of years old. Let's go down
00:33and explore the area. This place looks flat from above, but it's extremely
00:38uneven. There are black hills, slopes, and strange tall cones everywhere. Some of
00:46them reach a height of more than 330 feet. It's higher than the Statue of Liberty, and
00:51the highest peak reaches about 3,900 feet above sea level. All these
00:57formations seem to be burnt out. This whole area resembles a giant testing
01:02ground where something big was blown up, or where a large-scale fire burned. In some
01:07way, it's true. There was a fire here, not on the ground, but under it, and then it
01:13burst out. This entire territory is covered with molten lava. It came out of the
01:19ground and spread in different directions, burning everything in its path. Then a new
01:25portion of lava came out and solidified on top of the previous layer. And so, with
01:30time, the lava formed a hill, a cone, and all the mountains located there. So, turns out
01:36this place is covered with small volcanoes? Kinda. There are about 150 of them. They're all
01:43extinct, and they're not exactly volcanoes. This place is called the Harouge volcanic field. But
01:52the volcanoes here don't look the way you imagine them. Here you can find different types. Small
01:57vents, chimneys, and even shield volcanoes. Do you remember what shields look like in
02:04historical epic movies about ancient Greece or Sparta? These are round, flat plates with a smooth protrusion.
02:11So, shield volcanoes look kinda like these inverted shields. They don't turn into a hill or a mountain
02:18because the lava coming from these volcanoes is low viscosity, more fluid, and consists mainly of
02:24basalt. It spreads further than ordinary lava and takes longer to cool. As a result of such lava eruptions,
02:32vast and massive structures appear much wider and lower than ordinary volcanoes. Some of the volcanic rocks
02:39here are up to 6 million years old. The most recent eruptions occurred only a few thousand years ago,
02:46so it's quite safe to wander around here and take photos. Probably. But why are there so many volcanoes
02:53here? Most volcanoes on the planet appear along fault lines crossing the Earth's tectonic plates.
03:01Imagine that our planet is like a jigsaw puzzle. Fault lines are the places where the puzzle pieces are
03:06attached to each other. When seismic activity occurs, red hot magma comes out of those cracks,
03:13and at that moment, a volcano appears. Okay, so the Haruj volcanic field is a huge fault, right? No.
03:22The strange thing is, there's no fault line here. Moreover, it isn't even located next to any of those
03:28fault lines. Volcanoes here have a rather unusual origin. For some reason, a huge magma reservoir
03:37formed under this area, filled with a surge of molten rock, and there was so much of it that it
03:43began to bubble out from different spots. These were not explosive eruptions like those of ordinary
03:49volcanoes. Magma here poured out smoothly from numerous vents, turning the ground a dark, coal-black
03:57color. All the volcanoes here are extinct, but even if they were to awaken, it wouldn't be a sudden
04:03disaster. You'd most likely have time to escape. Okay, now let's move to the Karakum Desert, which is
04:12located in Turkmenistan. This desert covers about 70% of the country's territory. It's 135,000 square
04:21miles of sun-scorched, barren land. Even if you wander through these hot plains, valleys, and ridges
04:27for several days, you still won't leave this desert. But if you go to the north-central part of the desert,
04:33especially at night, you can see something fascinating. Already from afar, you will see a bright
04:41pillar of light, as if someone started a large-scale fire. You come closer and see a fantastic sight,
04:48a huge pit with bright flames. This place is called the Darvaza Crater, and it's not a volcano.
04:58The fire has been burning here at night and during the day for weeks, months, even years. This huge pit
05:04burns 24-7 and attracts a lot of tourists. Nobody knows for sure how this crater formed,
05:11but the most popular story says geologists came here in the early 70s to drill for oil.
05:17They got to work, but the ground collapsed beneath them. Three sinkholes appeared here and they started
05:22leaking methane. In small quantities, this gas is safe. It's used as fuel, burning in gas turbines and
05:29steam generators to produce electricity. In everyday life, this gas helps to heat houses and prepare food.
05:37But in large quantities, methane can cause health problems. It's colourless and odourless,
05:42and you may not notice that you're breathing it in. Methane is non-toxic, but it has a suffocating
05:48effect, which can lead to serious physical damage. Also, a methane leakage can harm the environment,
05:55because it's a greenhouse gas. Methane emissions can lead to an increase in global temperatures and
06:01the greenhouse effect. So, let's go back to our geologist in Turkmenistan. You know, those scenes
06:10where a fire hydrant breaks in the middle of the city, or a pipe bursts and the streets flood with
06:14water? Those geologists had a similar accident with methane. A huge amount of gas began to seep from
06:21under the ground, and something had to be done about it. You're in the middle of a desert next to
06:27a huge pit where dangerous explosive gas is leaking out non-stop. What would you do? Set it on fire,
06:34of course. Scientists thought the fire would soon burn all their gas reserves and everything would be
06:40fine. They set it on fire and started waiting. An hour, a day, a week, a month. Years passed,
06:49but the gas continued to burn, and it was much better for the environment than invisible seepage.
06:55This place began to attract tourists and geologists from all over the world. Many scientists wanted to
07:01look at the eternal fire to examine it, and some of them did. In 2013, a Canadian researcher came there
07:08and found out that no one really knew how that funnel had formed. Local geologists said that the crater
07:14had formed in the 60s, but people began to talk about it only in the 1980s. Now it's impossible to
07:21find exact information about the origin of the fire pit because it's classified. Why? Good question.
07:29If you have the money and desire to go to Turkmenistan to see the Darvaza crater, don't rush to do it.
07:36After lots and lots of years, the crater seems to be calming down. But why? Has all the methane run out?
07:42Nope. The authorities just stepped in and tried to stop the leak. In simple words, they found a way to
07:49turn off the valve. Now, in satellite images, you can see that the fire is almost out. On the one hand,
07:56it's sad that now you won't be able to see it with your own eyes. But on the other hand,
08:01the number of fires in this region has decreased threefold. Okay, splashes of fire and magma in the
08:08middle of hot dunes don't seem strange. What about active volcanoes in the middle of icy plains and
08:15endless snow? On the territory of West Antarctica, scientists have discovered 91 volcanoes hidden under
08:23a 2.5-mile-thick layer of ice. This makes Antarctica home to the world's largest volcanic ridge.
08:31All this ice is putting a lot of pressure on volcanoes and possibly holding them from erupting.
08:37But as we know, the temperature is rising all over the world, and the ice is melting. If it loses a lot
08:44of mass, it can trigger the volcanoes, which will then melt even more ice. This will lead to higher sea
08:50levels and many other problems. But let's talk about this in another video.
08:57That's it for today. So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and
09:02share it with your friends. Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the bright side!
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