6-688: Burning Mountain , the common name for Mount Wingen , is a hill near Wingen, New South Wales , Australia, approximately 224 km (139 mi) north of Sydney just off the New England Highway . 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). A trail with information panels runs from
12-530: Is a village in the Upper Hunter Shire , in the Hunter Region of New South Wales , Australia . Situated on the New England Highway , it lies about 15 minutes from the town of Scone . It is known for the local Burning Mountain tourist attraction, a burning underground coal seam . Wingen has a population of just several hundred people. Its few businesses include an antique store and a pub. The town
18-470: Is known for the Burning Mountain , which according to scientists is the world's oldest known coal fire, and has been burning for approximately 6,000 years. Explorers in the 19th century mistook its smoking summit for a volcano. In fact the name Wingen comes from the local Aboriginal language , and means "fire". The Wingen Maid is a rock formation in the local Wingen Maid Nature Reserve which resembles
24-416: The earth by The Evil One. Unable to escape, he used his fire stick to set the mountain alight, so that the smoke might warn others to keep away. The underground fire is estimated to be at a depth of around 30 m (100 ft). It is estimated that the fire has burned for approximately 6,000 years and is the oldest known coal fire. European explorers and settlers to the area believed the smoke, coming from
30-408: The ground, was volcanic in origin. It was not until 1829 that geologist Reverend C. P. N. Wilton identified it as a coal seam fire. The fire is generally moving in a southerly direction at a rate of about 1 m (3 ft) per year. The combustion has caused soil discolouration and an uneven ground surface in the area. Wingen, New South Wales Wingen / ˈ w ɪ n dʒ ən /
36-467: The parking lots to the site where smoke emanates from the ground. The Leyland brothers reported on Mount Wingen in the first episode of their travel programme, Ask The Leyland Brothers : The Aborigines named the mountain Wingen, which means "fire". Their explanation of the origin of the burning mountain was that one day, a tribesman was lighting a fire on the mountainside when he was carried off deep into
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