Vesti Yamal TV crew found the largest known crater anywhere on Earth not too long ago. They were caught off guard by the fact that they weren’t actually trying to get there, but rather returning from another task.

They were amazed by the enormous cylindrical crater and quickly made it known to others so that they could send a team of scientists. The whole area was examined by this team. It was found that the crater is approximately 50 meters deep, and formed entirely naturally.

Like most other craters, this one was formed by methane gas accumulation in pockets of thawing northern tundra permafrost. This combination creates an explosive explosion that causes the crater formation overnight

According to Every Chuvilin who is the head researcher at Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology this is the largest known crater.

Professor Vasily Bogoyavlensky stated that this particular crater, after it was assigned the number seventeen, will most likely be used to identify these craters in order to avoid more deaths from explosions.