This phenomenon, which developed in Yakutia in Russia, in the permafrost of Siberia, was discovered in 1991 with the help of satellite images. The Patajajka crater attracted the attention of scientists even at that time, as its size was increasing, and this process was only accelerating with time.
Since it appears in pictures as if the earth is opening up, many people call the hole the “underworld” or “gate to hell.”
The background of its formation is Siberian permafrost, forever thawing of the permafrost layer, and cutting down of trees. As global warming affects this region more and more intensely, the ice is gradually melting and shaping the landscape, and where pine forests are missing, the effect is even more dramatic.
Image: NASA Earth Observatory images
According to the latest observations, the hole's wall is “moving” outward by about 12 meters per year, meaning it is expanding, and in the meantime, the falling material in the hole dissolves and sinks further into the deeper layers. The depth of the crater is currently 55 metres, but growth is occurring at a rapid rate. The diameter of the formation was 790 meters in 2014, but in 2023 it will be 990 metres, absorbing one million cubic meters of material every year.
a Geomorphology According to research published in a scientific journal, an amount of ice and sediment equivalent to more than 14 great pyramids in Giza has already entered the huge hole.
According to the researchers, Patajajka crater is “still actively growing,” but it will not be able to expand beyond a certain point. The thickness of the permafrost measured inside the hole is now only a few metres, and there is already a layer of hard rock underneath that will stop growth.
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