Natural and Human Extremes
The 5 hottest places on earth are not all natural. In fact, we have created some of the worst natural disasters in our entire history on earth. We have accidentally set fires that will burn for decades if not centuries. This amazing list compares our fires to some of nature’s most extreme high temperature regions on earth.
The Darvasa Gas Crater
In the middle of Turkmenistan’s expansive Karakum Desert near the village of Deweze lies a massive fiery crater. Soviet petrochemical scientists set this hole in the earth ablaze when they accidentally drilled into a cavernous pocket of natural gas. The ground beneath the drilling rig collapsed into a 235 wide crater. Fearing a release of poisonous methane gas, scientists set the hole on fire expecting the gas to burn away in a few days. However, the 75ft deep hole continues to burn today, nearly 1/2 century later
Dasht-e Lut Desert, Iran
The Dasht-e Lut desert (Emptiness Desert) is a large salt desert in Southeastern Iran with an area of 20,000 square miles. It is 25th largest desert in the world. Formerly sculpted by large waterways and now shaped by the wind, the desert features large parallel ridges, sinkholes and sand dunes (980ft) high. The hottest part of Dasht-e Lut is the Gandon Beryam. Its name means “Roasted Wheat” due to the local legend that a load of wheat was scorched by the intense heat. NASA satellites have confirmed that this dark, lava-covered plateau is the hottest land surface on the earth, with temperatures reaching (159.3Ã?° F).
Erta Ale, Ethiopia
Erta Ale is an active shield volcano located in the Dankil Depression of Northeastern Ethiopia. Erta Ale is one of the driest and highest temperature places on earth, with temperatures as high as (118�° F). Rising 2,011ft high, the volcano itself is completely surrounded by an area below sea level. Erta Ale has been continuously erupting since 1967, and it is one of the only five volcanoes in the world with active lava lake. It is notable for having the longest existing lava lake, fed by an enormous pool of active magma beneath and present since its discovery in 1906.
Centrailia Pennsylvania
Located atop rich veins of coal, Centrailia was a mining town formally home to nearly 2000 people in the 1950s. Beneath the town burns a coal seam fire that started in the1960s when the fire department set fire to the town’s landfill in an ill-fated attempt to clean it for Memorial Day celebrations. Over the years, the fire spread beneath the town, forcing the relocation of all but 10 residents by 2010. Today, Centrailia is a ghost town, dotted with dangerous sinkholes and poisonous gases amid the abandoned buildings and buckled streets.
Dallol, Ethiopia
Also located in the Afar Region of the Dankil Depression, the Dallol volcanic explosion crater in Ethiopia is one of the most unique places on earth. The nearby town as an elevation of (427ft) below sea level, and it is the hottest inhabited location on Earth. The average annual temperature in Dallol, Ethiopia is (96�° F). The volcano, which last erupted in 1926, is surrounded by acidic hot springs, mountains of sulfur, pillars of salt, and small gas geysers. It is one of the most remote places on earth, with the only regular transport provided by camel caravans which travel there to collect salt.
