Some things sound so magical, you might not realize that they're actually real. Eternal flames could make the list; they seem like something you'd only find in a fairy tale. But they’re real and still burning as we speak. And the best part? You don't need to travel to the depths of the Earth to find them.
Photographer and adventurer Mike Loughran shared a natural eternal flame that burns in Chestnut Ridge Park in Orchard Park, New York, just outside Buffalo. Glowing inside a grotto behind Eternal Flame Falls, the flickering flame stays lit throughout all seasons, even during the winter when the waterfall freezes.
Eternal flames stay lit in various ways. In the case of Chestnut Ridge Park, it’s fueled by a deposit of natural gas that’s emitted at the base of the waterfall. For many years, scientists thought the fire burned because the gas pocket rose from an extremely hot bedrock of shale, creating natural gas. But more recently, researchers from Indiana University found this wasn’t the case. The shale wasn’t hot enough or old enough to cause the gas pocket, yet it still exists. There’s another reason for the eternal flame, and scientists aren’t sure why.
You can visit Eternal Flame Falls on a short hike in Chestnut Ridge Park. If you go, be sure to bring a lighter; although the flame has the capacity to stay lit year-round, it's occasionally extinguished and needs to be reignited by a hiker.
Photographer and adventurer Mike Loughran shared a natural eternal flame that burns in Chestnut Ridge Park in Orchard Park, New York.
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Glowing inside a grotto behind Eternal Flame Falls, the flickering flame stays lit throughout all seasons, even during the winter when the waterfall freezes.
You can visit Eternal Flame Falls on a short hike in Chestnut Ridge Park.
If you go, be sure to bring a lighter; although the flame has the capacity to stay lit year-round, it's occasionally extinguished and needs to be reignited by a hiker.
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