Burning Mountain
| Burning Mountain | |
|---|---|
| Mount Wingen | |
 View of the summit | |
| Elevation | 520 m (1,706 ft)[1] |
| Prominence | 120 m (394 ft)[1] |
| Location | |
  Burning Mountain | |
| Coordinates | 31°51′54″S 150°54′04″E / 31.86500°S 150.90111°ECoordinates: 31°51′54″S 150°54′04″E / 31.86500°S 150.90111°E[2] |
| Topo map |
Murrurundi 9034 (1:100000) Murrurundi 90324N (1:25000) |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | walking track |
Burning Mountain, the common name for Mount Wingen, is a hill near Wingen, New South Wales, Australia, approximately 224 kilometres (139 mi) north of Sydney just off the New England Highway.[2] It takes its name from a smouldering coal seam running underground through the sandstone. Burning Mountain is contained within the Burning Mountain Nature Reserve, which is administered by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).[3][4]
A trail with information panels runs from the park carpark to the site where smoke emanates from the ground.
Coal seam fire
The underground fire is estimated to be at a depth of around 30 m.[5] The scientific estimate is that the fire has burned for approximately 6,000 years and is the oldest known coal fire.[6] European explorers and settlers to the area believed that the smoke coming from the ground was volcanic in origin.[5] It was until 1829, when geologist C.P.N. Wilton identified it as a coal seam fire.[5]
The fire is moving in a generally southerly direction at a rate of about one metre per year. The combustion has caused soil discolouration and an uneven ground surface in the area.[5]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Topographic map Murrurundi 90324N
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Burning Mountain". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
- ↑ "Burning Mountain Nature Reserve". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
- ↑ "Burning Mountain Nature Reserve". Department of Environment, Climate Change & Water. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Stone, Derrick (2012). Walks, Tracks and Trails of New South Wales. Csiro Publishing. p. 115. ISBN 0643106928. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
- ↑ Krajick, Kevin (May 2005). "Fire in the hole". Smithsonian magazine (Smithsonian Institution): 54ff. Retrieved 24 October 2006.
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