# What's the deal with the 'Devil's Cemetery' at Tunguska? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 28, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-devils-cemetery-at-tunguska/511870 "2009-09-28T18:06:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-devils-cemetery-at-tunguska/511870/21 "2009-09-29T12:50:02Z")
So what y’all are saying is, The Pravda is really out there? ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-devils-cemetery-at-tunguska/511870/22 "2009-09-29T13:58:54Z")
> [@Wallenstein](#): > > Just because it’s Siberia doesn’t mean it’s cold :rolleyes: So, um, what? You saying the aliens did it? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-devils-cemetery-at-tunguska/511870/23 "2009-09-29T15:03:17Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > Don’t know if this will shed any light on the subject, but I read an article about a recent team of researchers that were investigating a small lake at ground zero that they thought might contain remnants of the meteor. > > They didn’t mention anything weird about the area they were in. I saw a fairly crappy TV programme ( I think it was [this one](http://www.channel4.com/programmes/close-encounters-in-siberia) which is on again in Britain tonight) which had an Italian “scientist” looking for evidence of a meteor or something on a lake bed in the area. He was out on a boat and sent a TV camera down to the bottom of the lake. He reckoned that if he saw dead trees there it would prove whatever his hypothesis was. He had a monitor on his boat, and lo and behold, saw lots of vertical pole type objects sticking out of the silt at the bottom. He naturally interpreted these as tree trunks, still standing, and was jubilant. However, there was no indication of scale. If they were tree trunks, then the camera was seeing the lake bed from about 20 feet above it. It didn’t look to me like the water was clear enough for that. Furthermore, I think I’ve seen such vertical objects on the bottom of lochs in Scotland, where the environment is fairly similar. I don’t know whether they are dead roots or stalks or something, but they are similar to stubble in cut fields and are nearer 6 inches high than 10 feet. Naturally, the programme did not investigate any of these details. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-devils-cemetery-at-tunguska/511870/24 "2009-09-29T15:48:23Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > As far as the Tunguska event goes, I _think_ the current theories among people who aren’t whack jobs is that it was a comet that blew up in the atmosphere above the area. The serious debate on the Tunguska event basically boils down to “comet or asteroid?” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-devils-cemetery-at-tunguska/511870/25 "2009-09-29T16:09:38Z")
from what I recall of Kulik and Krinov’s work, there were lots of small depressions around the area (I don’t recall there being a big lake in the center). they thought these might be depressions from meteorites, but when they dug into them and drained them, they found them to be covered with a 20 year growth of sphagnum moss (this was in 1927, just 19 years after the event). The final conclusion was that the great heat of the explosion melted the permafrost, making the land sink in places with all that supporting ice gone. Moss then grew on the top. aside from one late report of a fist-sized chunk of possible meteor material (which nobody seems to mention), they found no major pieces of meteorite. three decades later a careful survey found the entire area underneath and to the northwest covered in both silicaceous and metallic micrometeorites. Directly underneath the blast center the trees stood upright, but all the branches were stripped away, leaving “forest of telegraph poles”. Further away, the trees were blown outwards from the center. Kulik had flights made over the region, producing an aerial photomosaic that I never have seen a good reproduction of. Bottom line – it’s pretty clear that there was a big explosion up in the air, and that no major chunks reached the ground. There were a lot of expeditions in the 20s, 30s, fifties, and sixties, and they never found anything – it’s not as if there was a big lake that stymied investigation – no one ever reported that. all of which makes me lean to the “comet” hypothesis. If there had been even a moderate-sized asteroid or meteor, I’d expect to find chunks after an explosion. They’re found big chunks from the Barre meteorite crater and from the Sikhote-Alin meteor. Had there been anything bigger than micrometeorite from Tunguska, they almost certainly would have found it by now ---
**Author:** ![KellyCriterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@KellyCriterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyCriterion)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-devils-cemetery-at-tunguska/511870/26 "2009-09-29T16:33:00Z")
> [@Dog80](#): > > If I am not mistaken, that’s exactly how a compass is supposed to work. 🙂 I’ve never seen a compass with a needle, only a [spinning disc](http://www.seawear.com/images/cufflinks/compass~100.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-devils-cemetery-at-tunguska/511870/27 "2009-09-29T16:36:13Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > Back in 1989, the volcano Mt. Redoubt in Alaska blew up and produced [this kick ass image of a mushroom cloud](http://s3.amazonaws.com/readers/2008/10/26/415749_2.jpg). Anybody else see the blue whale in that cloud? ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-devils-cemetery-at-tunguska/511870/28 "2009-09-29T17:43:43Z")
> [@KellyCriterion](#): > > I’ve never seen a compass with a needle, only a [spinning disc](http://www.seawear.com/images/cufflinks/compass~100.jpg). Are you joking? If not, google compass. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-devils-cemetery-at-tunguska/511870/29 "2009-09-29T18:02:57Z")
Back in the very early 1950s, there was a cloud formation that was clearly visible around the Dallas, TX area and I suppose for miles around but that was where I saw it. Lots of other people saw it and photographs of it were published in the Dallas newspapers. It was the exact shape of a mushroom shaped cloud and many people were terrified by it; there were many rumors of a Russian attack. My sister had only recently married a fighter pilot who explained what it was to anyone who would listen but no body wanted to hear the truth----it was the result of an atomic blast and that’s all there was too it. I don’t remember his technical explanation, nor what type of cloud it was, but it was a perfectly natural formation even though I’ve never seen another like it, before or since. For the time period, though, it was frightening. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-devils-cemetery-at-tunguska/511870/30 "2009-09-29T18:21:07Z")
Scientific American ran a [feature story](http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-tunguska-mystery-100-years-later) on investigations at Tunguska last summer for its 100th anniversary. The authors believe there is a lake which marks the impact point. Still haven’t found any fragments let, but they were planning a 2009 expedition to search again. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-devils-cemetery-at-tunguska/511870/31 "2009-09-29T20:59:03Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > Anybody else see the blue whale in that cloud? Eye to the right of the stem, facing left? Bottom of the cap? ---
**Author:** ![pan1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@pan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pan1)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-devils-cemetery-at-tunguska/511870/32 "2009-09-29T21:06:08Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > You are correct. Any large explosion that kicks off a lot of heat will produce a mushroom cloud. I have a video of a particularly overpowered fourth of july firework tank battle using the little 3 inch cardboard tanks. The battlefield was perhaps 12 square feet lined on both sides with cardboard tanks and a little added gunpowder and possibly a few puddles of gasoline. The initial explosion produced a very clear mushroom cloud 3-4 feet high. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-devils-cemetery-at-tunguska/511870/33 "2009-09-29T21:55:39Z")
> [@Olentzero](#): > > I’m all for slamming [pravda.ru](http://pravda.ru) at every possible opportunity because of its pissweak excuse for journalism, but let’s get the facts straight here. [Pravda.ru](http://Pravda.ru) (a/k/a Pravda Online) was founded by editors and journalists who broke off from _Pravda_ and is not related to the original newspaper in any way beyond that connection. The original _Pravda_ is still in existence [here](http://www.gazeta-pravda.ru/). It’s a much more politically serious newspaper than its breakaway counterpart; I don’t agree with a lot of what they say but to their credit they try to avoid the five-legged lamb kind of story. My apologies to the original newspaper and my thanks to you for the information, then. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-devils-cemetery-at-tunguska/511870/34 "2009-09-30T16:00:39Z")
> [@Olentzero](#): > > Eye to the right of the stem, facing left? Bottom of the cap? Yeah, pretty much. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-devils-cemetery-at-tunguska/511870/35 "2009-09-30T18:08:49Z")
Nope, don’t see it at all. Oh, like you didn’t see that one coming… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-devils-cemetery-at-tunguska/511870/36 "2009-09-30T21:17:02Z")
I do, however, see a bowl of potted petunias. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-devils-cemetery-at-tunguska/511870/37 "2009-09-30T21:46:44Z")
Oh no, not again. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-devils-cemetery-at-tunguska/511870/38 "2009-10-01T00:42:27Z")
> [@](#): > > The authors believe there is a lake which marks the impact point. There might be now, but I don’t think there was one back for the earlier expeditions. It’s been 80 years since the first one. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-devils-cemetery-at-tunguska/511870/39 "2009-10-01T02:09:38Z")
:smack: I can’t believe I forgot to mention the obvious (but often overlooked) explanation for the Tunguska blast. Baba Yaga The old crone of Mother Russia is a potent force, with a long reach. ---
**Author:** ![jakesteele](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ed8c4c/32.png) [@jakesteele](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jakesteele)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-devils-cemetery-at-tunguska/511870/40 "2009-10-01T04:55:31Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > The quote said “My compass’s hand froze and pointed at the North only.” The only sensible interpretation of this is that the needle froze while pointing to “N” and subsequently didn’t move regardless of the orientation of the compass. What do you mean by “the needle froze while pointing “N”…” Do you mean it was so cold out that the needle just randomly chose that moment to lock up from cold? Or do you mean that there was mechanical defect/problem that caused it to lock up just at that moment? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-devils-cemetery-at-tunguska/511870.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-devils-cemetery-at-tunguska/511870.md?page=3)