A town here in the US called Centralia (in Pennsylvania) developed an underground coal fire back in 1962. Eventually everyone had to leave due to the instability of the ground and the fumes. No one knows how it started. They expect it to burn another 250 years.
I thought it started because some geniuses got together and decided the best way to dispose of a ton of garbage was to dump it in an open pit from the mine and burn it.
We know exactly how it started. The local government decided the best way to get rid of an illegal dump that was in an abandoned open coal mine pit was to set it alight.
I agree, that's a great question about Burning Mountain and one of the most interesting parts of the story. Having studied the geology in that area on contract myself, I can shed a bit of light on how to determined the duration of the fire. Researchers use carbon dating and can analyse tree rings affected by the fire's heat in the area above ground, to establish a timeline of the fires history and progress. The longevity of the fire is due to the size of the coal seam and the slow-burning process. Coal seams contain a huge amount of fuel, but burn very inefficiently, especially underground. This is a very slow burn, typically at a rate of only a few meters per year. The fire is sustained because it has access to oxygen through cracks and fissures in the ground. This combination of a plentiful fuel source, many kilometres long and meters wide in some sections, and a steady supply of oxygen allows the fire to persist like a slow burning incense candle.
Burning Mountain, at Wingen, has long been a sacred place of healing for Aboriginal people.18 The name ‘Wingen’, pronounced win-jen, is derived from the local Aboriginal word, ‘win’, meaning ‘fire so I suspect it was observed a bit before the 1800s
Bayswater and Liddell power stations are well over an hour away from Burning Mountain, Liddell is also closed down now too. I ought to know as my in-law works at Bayswater power station. Also that coal train is headed to the Newcastle port to unload that coal. Bayswater power stations coal comes from a completely different mine and direction than whatever you said about that coal train. Some of us actually care about the things around and what happens in the Hunter Valley. Otherwise you are pretty good on the camera work.
@@leo1933 Liddell power station is now going to be turned into a massive batterie storage facility. It'll be something to see for sure, whatever it ends up looking like.
Feel free to jump on in and inspect it for yourself, or don't. Either way, you are so dang wrong it's shameful. But your holy book says bla bla bla. Seriously though, great joke!
Those 2 power stations are over an hour away from burning mountain and 1 of them has already been shutdown permanently. Father in-law works at the other one as the lead control room operator. Small world.....
"Smokey hill" because a few blokes grew pot up there once and then P platers like to smoke bongs in the car park. HAHAHA Funny rolling up to what looks like a car on fire only to see 7 teens climb out and start raiding the boot for snacks...
@@TheHungrySlug haha thats funny but no we called it Smokey hill because its not a mountain its a hill and its not obviously burning its just smokey :) hence Smokey Hill
I don't understand why all this wasted energy is not able to be harnessed. Just think. 6000 years of continuous energy just being untapped. Surely there is technology available that could do that.
it'd cost too much and then there is the fact that it is a small "national Park" and is protected land. Also, it'll get dug up eventually. Coal mining companies will rip open most of the east coast of Australia to get all the coal. From Brisbane all the way down to near Wagga wagga. Just give it another 150 years and it'll all be nearly mined away. There are really old maps that chart out the coal seams of Eastern Australia and it's all marked for mining. It's just a matter of time, sadly...
