A 262-foot crater has been discovered in a remote part of Siberia, dubbed by locals as “the end of the world,” and scientists are stumped.
The Siberian Times reports scientists began investigating the crater on Wednesday. They are expected to take water, soil and air samples from the location.
Experts believe the crater formed two years ago.
While scientists are not sure what caused the massive crater, they are fairly confident it was not caused by a meteorite.
University of New South Wales polar scientist Chris Fogwill told The Sydney Morning Herald the hole is most likely to be a collapsed geological phenomenon called a “pingo,” a mound of earth-covered ice, usually found in the Arctic and subarctic areas.
“This is obviously a very extreme version of that, and if there’s been any interaction with the gas in the area, that is a question that could only be answered by going there,” Fogwill said.