In a viral Instagram post, Mike Loughran documents the amazing site of one of the world’s “eternal flames.” These flames can continuously burn, sometimes even without human help, for hundreds or thousands of years.
The spectacular flame was captured burning at the base of a frozen waterfall grotto in an area of Upstate New York called Chestnut Ridge.
Eternal Flame Falls
The waterfall where Loughran captured the breathtaking footage is the appropriately named “Eternal Flame Falls.”
While it looks cool on camera, the “eternal flame” is made possible due to an outpouring of natural gas that fills the area, giving it a rotten-egg smell to visitors.
Lit Flames
Organic material trapped in gray and black shale forms a 90ft thick rock layer that geologists think was deposited between 416 and 359 million years ago.
The natural gas that escapes from the layers of rock comes as a result of the decomposing organic material trapped by pressure under these layers. As the organic material decomposes the gas escapes through rock fissures, allowing a large flame to remain lit as well as periodic smaller flames.
Loughran’s Post
In his Instagram post, Loughran takes the audience on a video tour of the area near the eternal flame in the grotto.
“This flame is one of the 9 big naturally occurring eternal flames we have here on earth. Some argue there are more, but many refer to the 9 big ones,” Loughran wrote.
Famous Flame
Loughran, who goes by “fishlikemike” on Instagram, asserts that this flame is one of the more popular ones compared to the other eight because of its location near a waterfall.
“This flame here is one of the more famous eternal flames due to it’s location inside of a waterfall. They occur because of cracks in the earth that leak a combination of natural gases,” says Loughran’s post.
Mysterious Origins
Mythology and mystery have built up around this fantastical-looking flame, which Loughran comments on, and researchers have said much still needs to be learned about. “The story is developing,” said Arndt Schimmelmann, senior scientist at Indiana University Bloomington in 2013.
“Some say this flame was lit by Native Americans hundreds of years ago,” Loughran said.
Other Eternal Flames
Enthusiasts of these eternal flames think there are nine major ones discovered so far in the world. One of these flames is called the “Flames of Chimaera” and burns at the top of a mountain in southwest Turkey.
This eternal flame gives visitors the appearance that the mountain is breathing fire. However, unlike Eternal Flame Falls, the flame in Turkey is powered by “unusual types of methane.”
Gates of Hell
Perhaps one of the most striking eternal flames exists in Turkmenistan in its Darvaza gas crater. Locals refer to the crater by several nicknames including “Door to Hell” and “Gates of Hell” for its dark yet intense appearance.
A flame has been burning in this crater since the 1970s due to the release of natural gas by a drilling rig.
Erta Ale
In Ethiopia, there is an eternal flame that sits atop a lake of molten magma. Like the Darvaza crater, this location has also earned the “gates to hell” nickname by the locals for its striking appearance.
Erta Ale is classified as an active shield volcano and produces lava flows that have extended for great distances from the eruption site before.
Yanar Dağ
The country of Azerbaijan has its own eternal flame that has reportedly been burning for thousands of years and has earned the country a nickname of “the Land of Fire.” The site is called Yanar Dağ, which means “burning mountainside.”
“This fire has burned 4,000 years and never stopped,” says Aliyeva Rahila. “Even the rain coming here, snow, wind – it never stops burning.”
Taiwan’s Water and Fire Spring
Much like Eternal Flame Falls, Taiwan’s Guanziling Water and Fire Spring features a mixture of water and fire in the same location while an eternal flame burns.
In 2011, a tourist tried their best to put out the flames by splashing water onto them. However, as the flames went out and the water ceased, the flames nearly immediately restarted because the stones around the spring were hot enough to reignite the gas.
How Do Eternal Flames Work?
Despite their moniker, not all eternal flames burn continuously without rest.
Because temperatures are extremely high where a flame is burning, any time it is put out temporarily, the heat reignites the gas or other combustible material again, allowing the flame to continue as long as there is a steady supply of fuel and air.
