When explorers came to Burning Mountain in the 18th century, they initially thought it was a volcano. However, they later realized that this mountain was something much stranger. Located in Australia’s New South Wales region, this mountain is home to the world’s oldest known coal fire with its fire that has not been extinguished for thousands of years.
Most scientists believe this fire has been burning for at least 6,000 years, but some say it may be much older.
This fire is located under Mount Wingen, about 30 meters below ground. It is no accident that the word Wingen means “fire” in the indigenous language of the local Wonaruah people. Since it is underground, it is impossible to see this fire or even to understand its size, but the smoke rising from the mountain definitely proves its existence.
Guillermo Rein, professor of fire science at Imperial College London in England, told ScienceAlert in 2022 that “no one knows the size of the fire under the Burning Mountain, it can only be estimated”. We can talk about a ball whose temperature reaches 1,000 degrees Celsius.”
The fire is fed by the huge piles of coal lying under the mountain. Like a piece of charcoal turning white in a fireplace, the invisible fire slowly burns the coal at a rate of about 1 meter a year. Age estimates are made by measuring the route and burning speed of the fire, which stretches for approximately 6.5 kilometers. But no one knows when it started to burn.
Not sure how it came out?
It is not certain how the fire started, but it is almost certain that it was not human-made. A natural cause such as a lightning bolt is seen as the most likely explanation.
In a blog post detailing his visit to Burning Mountain, Professor Rein says the heat pumped out of the coal fire creates a 50-metre area around the hill devoid of any vegetation.
He notes that similar underground coal fires have been found elsewhere in the world, notably in China, India and the United States. For example, a fire at the Centralia mine in Pennsylvania accidentally ignited in 1962 in a maze of abandoned coal mines. Despite several attempts to extinguish it, it still burns to this day and is expected to continue burning for another 250 years.
Less than four hours’ drive from Sydney, the Burning Mountain Nature Reserve is open to the public.
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