Mysterious Crater

Scientists are closing in on what caused three massive holes to open up mysteriously in northern Siberia last July.

This week a team of Russian researchers roped their way down 34 feet to the bottom of the largest crater and found no evidence of alien beings or meteorites that some people had offered up as possible explanations.

"We managed to go down into the funnel, all was successful," Vladimir Pushkarev, director of the Russian Center of Arctic Exploration and the leader of the team, told The Siberian Times. "We took all the probes we planned, and made measurements. Now scientists need time to process all the data and only then can they draw conclusions."

So what did cause the holes to form? According to Pushkarev, the leading theory is that the holes were created by pockets of gas that exploded underground.

"As of now we don't see anything dangerous in the sudden appearance of such holes," he told The Siberian Times, "but we've got to study them properly to make absolutely sure we understand the nature of their appearance and don't need to be afraid about them."

Researchers have long contended that the epicenter of global warming is also farthest from the reach of humanity. It’s in the barren landscapes of the frozen North, where red-cheeked children wear fur, the sun barely rises in the winter and temperatures can plunge dozens of degrees below zero. 

Such a place is the Yamal Peninsula in Siberia, translated as “the ends of the Earth,” a desolate spit of land where a group called the Nenets live.

By now, you’ve heard of the crater on the Yamal Peninsula. It’s the one that suddenly appeared, yawning nearly 100 feet in diameter, and made several rounds in the global viral media machine. The adjectives most often used to describe it: giant, mysterious, curious.

Scientists were subsequently “baffled.” Locals were “mystified.” There were whispers that aliens were responsible. Nearby residents peddled theories of “bright flashes” and “celestial bodies.”