How Good is Your Geographic? [4]

[Caroline]

Two part answer: I think (fingers crossed tightly) that it is in Turkey, but I am pretty sure that it is a geological feature that is an odd shape. The formation looks a bit boatish so has led some people to suggest that it is indeed Noah's Ark.

[schmenke]

Hey, Caoline, good to see you back

Yes, you’re spot on. The Durupinar feature is a geological anomaly located in eastern Turkey, about 30kms south of Mount Arafat. Viewed from the air it reassembles a large boat and, coupled with its location, has been often been thought to be the remnants of Noah’s ark.
Only with recent on-site examination has it been confirmed to be nothing more than a natural geological feature, not unlike others in the region.

Go one and give us a stumper now

[Caroline]

Thank you As for a stumper......I'm not so sure.

Just been reading about a fascinating gas crater that has been burning constantly for nearly 40 years. It is known by some as 'The Gates of Hell'. It's thought that gas exploration by the Soviets in the 70s went horribly wrong and the gas in the crater would just burn out. The crater can be found north of the city of Ashgabat and has become something of a 'must see' for some more adventurous travellers.

So.... In which desert and country can this crater be found?

[Tazio]

Go see it It will save you a trip to Yellowstone Park.

[BDunnell]

Kazakhstan?

[Caroline]

Not Kazakhstan I'm afraid.

And, I wouldn't seeing Old Faithful some time....

[gadjo_dilo]

I haven't studied geography since I was in the 7th grade. One of my reminiscences of that times is the exotic names of the 2 deserts in former SU: Kizilkum and Karakum. Unfortunately I can't make a difference between them, I take them as a package.
Now one is in Uzbekistan and the other in Turkmenistan.

I don't know where the this living fire is but I must say that such phenomenon exists also in Romania:
The living fires | True Romania

[edv]

Hi Caroline! We've missed you here!

I have no idea about where your fire burns...I'll guess Azherbaizhan, since there's a lot of oil/gas there.

Also, FYI, the town of Centralia, Pennsylvania has been on fire for 45 years (underground coal fire started in 1962!)

[schmenke]

... And there’s that embarrassing Ogden dump fire here in Calgary that has been burning for a few weeks that’s only just been extinguished . It’s always reminded me of the Simpsons .

As for the gates of hell, well, there’s Mrs. Schmenke if you catch her on an off day... And she has been known to produce gas


I have no idea Caoline… Somewhere in Afganistan?

[Gregor-y]

Ashgabat is the capital of Turkmenistan. Yellowstone, like Hawaii and Iceland is a geologic hotspot. There are a lot of them, but I didn't know many more off the top of my head.

After a little research this looks like a real life Springfield tire fire.