Long lasting coal fires. · AditNow Community

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carnkie
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie Topic Starter

16 years ago

I've been reading about the coal fire under Centralia that is now a ghost town.
The former borough of Centralia is located in the heart of the anthracite mining region of Pennsylvania. In May 1962, a fire in a trash dump accidentally ignited the coal mine under the town. It has been burning underground ever since. Attempts to put out the fire over the years have been unsuccessful, and the population of 1,100 residents has since dwindled to a small handful.
I began wondering what was the longest known fire and was astounded to find that according to the Smithsonian Magazine, "Scientists estimate that Australia's Burning Mountain, the oldest known coal fire, has burned for 6,000 years."
Taken from the observation tower.
🔗Personal-Album-272-Image-35129[linkphoto]Personal-Album-272-Image-35129[/linkphoto][/link]

The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.

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JR
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

Carnkie wrote

Quote:

"Scientists estimate that Australia's Burning Mountain, the oldest known coal fire, has burned for 6,000 years."

How the h*** do you estimate a thing like that ?!

sleep is a caffeine deficiency.

carnkie
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie Topic Starter

16 years ago

I wondered that. It came from this article with, as far as I can see, no explanation.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/10013541.html

The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.

Roy Morton
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

"jr48" wrote:
Carnkie wrote

Quote:

"Scientists estimate that Australia's Burning Mountain, the oldest known coal fire, has burned for 6,000 years."

How the h*** do you estimate a thing like that ?!

Carbon dating???? :angel: :angel:

"You Chinese think of everything!"
"But I''m not Chinese!"
"Then you must have forgotten something!"

carnkie
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie Topic Starter

16 years ago

Now why didn't I think of that 😞 Another slight puzzle is although these fires seem very frequent around the world there doesn't seem to be many in Britain. Unless I've missed reading about them of course.

The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.

JR
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

Near to where I was brought up (Wednesbury in the Black Country) there was a patch of ground that was never built on that had signs on it warning of underground combustion and warning of possible spontaneous surface combustion. Stayed like that for decades.

sleep is a caffeine deficiency.

Dean Allison
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

Thats a hell of a long time! The Fenwick Pit spoil heap a couple of miles from my house is still burning after about 30 years. Just found out as there are some teams working on it now, drilling holes in it to put the fires out before it gets levelled.

pacef8
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

Its somewhere near cutacre near wigan but the place still has fumerols from underground putting out hot stuff.

A little nearer home on the spit at queensferry under the new bridge to north wales.
There is several hot ground spots that are over hand hot. and smoke with a wierd smell. They are inline with the colliery coal seam but may also be molten metal that was dumped many years ago from shotton steal.

Either way its still the same effect with nothing growing close to it and a sulphur smell.

If it blows up i know nothing :oops:

sorry no pics as i had no camera at that time...