Hell’s Gate: The Shrinking Cliff Face and Rapid Melting of the Batagay Crater in Siberia

The Batagay crater in Siberia is a giant hole that measures 990 meters wide and is continuously expanding. It was first discovered in 1991 after a part of a hillside collapsed in the Yana Uplands region of northern Yakutia, Russia. This crater, also known as “Hell’s Gate,” is made of frozen soil that has been thawing at an alarming rate. In fact, up to one million cubic meters of frozen ground melts each year, which causes the crater to grow larger.

Recent research has shown that the cliff face of the Batagay crater is shrinking at a rate of 12 meters per year due to the thawing of frozen soil. The collapsed portion of the hillside below the cliff face is also rapidly melting and sinking. Scientists have observed that rapid thaw zones are spreading in the Arctic and ice-rich areas near the North Pole. The loss of ice and sediment from the Batagay crater is especially high due to its massive size, which is projected to span 990 meters by 2023.

Researchers have calculated the volume of frozen soil melting at the crater’s rim by examining satellite images, taking field measurements, and using laboratory test data on samples from Batagay. The results show that more than 14 Great Pyramids of Giza worth of ice and sediment have melted since the collapse of the lake at the mouth of the crater. However, it’s important to note that these rates have been relatively stable over