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The World's Most Bizarre Man-Made Disasters (PHOTOS)

First Posted: 5/11/10   Updated: 5/25/11

As oil continues to flood into the Gulf of Mexico, we are reminded of just how environmentally destructive humans can be. But this isn't the first time a drilling rig has caused a major catastrophe, and oil spills and carbon emissions aren't the only way in which people ruin the environment. Here are 11 unusual, obscure and bizarre environmental disaster areas, courtesy of the Atlas Obscura.

The Gates Of Hell, Turkmenistan
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In the desert in Turkmenistan is a hole 328 ft. wide that has been on fire, continuously, for 38 years. In 1971, a Soviet drilling rig accidentally punched into a massive underground natural gas cavern, causing the ground to collapse and the entire drilling rig to fall in. Poisonous fumes began leaking from the hole. To head off a potential deadly catastrophe, the Soviets set the hole aflame.

More info on the Gates of Hell at Atlas Obscura
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As oil continues to flood into the Gulf of Mexico, we are reminded of just how environmentally destructive humans can be. But this isn't the first time a drilling rig has caused a major catastrophe, a...
As oil continues to flood into the Gulf of Mexico, we are reminded of just how environmentally destructive humans can be. But this isn't the first time a drilling rig has caused a major catastrophe, a...
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