Reindeer herders in Russia’s Far North have discovered yet another mysterious giant hole about 30 kilometers away from a similar one found days earlier.

Located in the permafrost of the subarctic Siberian region of Yamal, which means “end of the earth” in the local Nenets language, both craters appear to have been formed in recent years and have icy lakes at their bases.

However what created these giant cavities in the Siberian permafrost is still a matter of debate! Hopefully this second smaller hole in the ground will permit to better understand this strange underground phenomenon.

After examination of the first sinkhole, the widely accepted cause of these giant craters is an underground explosion triggered by global warming and a mixture of water, salt and gas. This would not be a surprise since the area where they were discovered is one of Russia’s richest deposits of natural gas.

The first mysterious giant hole discovered in Yamal one week ago measures about 50 meters wide and 70 meters deep, with permafrost water falling down into the icy deposit below. The second is much smaller and inside the crater, snow can be seen!

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