Burning Mountain (Mount Wingen)
A hill near Wingen in New South Wales where a coal seam has been burning underground for an estimated 5,500 years. Early explorers took its smoke for a volcano; the fire, about 30 m down, creeps on at roughly a metre a year and leaves bare, baked and discoloured ground behind.
Dated events and their evidence
- 3,500 BCE mainstream
the coal seam beneath the mountain catches fire, an estimated 5,500 years ago (NSW Government); Wikipedia, citing Smithsonian magazine, gives about 6,000 years source - 1829 CE mainstream
the geologist Reverend C. P. N. Wilton identifies the smoke as a coal seam fire, not a volcano source - 1974 CE mainstream
Ellyett and Fleming map the fire with thermal infrared imagery source
Where
31.8650° S, 150.9011° E
Wikipedia's point for the mountain (31°51'54" S, 150°54'04" E). The fire zone the photos show lies on its slopes.
Sources
- https://www.nsw.gov.au/visiting-and-exploring-nsw/locations-and-attractions/burning-mountain-nature-reserve
- https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/visit-a-park/parks/burning-mountain-nature-reserve
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_Mountain
- https://doi.org/10.1016/0034-4257(74)90040-6
- https://ozgeology.com/blogs/news/burning-mountain-australia-s-eternal-fire-beneath-the-earth
Each event carries Aion's own evidence grade (mainstream, disputed or speculative). This page repeats what the globe shows for this place.