Burning Mountain Nature Reserve
Burning Mountain is situated near the tiny settlement of Wingen (pronounced 'win-jen') which fronts on to the New England Highway in the upper Hunter region, 300 kilometres north of Sydney and 17 kilometres north of Scone.
Early explorers assumed Burning Mountain's billowing smoke and peak of grey, smoldering ash was an active volcano. In fact, the mountain's naturally-burning coal seam, unique in Australia, is thought to have been smoking away for over 5500 years. After a short pleasant walk, you can look down from the viewing platform into the vents where the smoke emerges.
Burning Mountain is situated near the tiny settlement of Wingen (pronounced 'win-jen') which fronts on to the New England Highway in the upper Hunter region, 300 kilometres north of Sydney and 17 kilometres north of Scone. It is the closest resemblance New South Wales has to a volcano.
The area covers 14 hectares and contains active smoking vents from an underground burning coal seam. The burning mountain is the only known example of a naturally burning coal seam in Australia and one of three worldwide.
Temperatures as high as 1700 degrees celsius are thought to occur at the front.
There is also evidence of its surface vegetation being destroyed by a furnace 30 metres below the surface.
Also interesting is a huge crack 150 metres down the mountain side and referred to as the "refrigerator" by locals, as freezing air pours through the crack.
Mammals that inhabit the area include lace monitors, common ringtail possums, sugar gliders, koalas, eastern grey kangaroo, wallaroo, swamp wallaby and red-necked wallaby. Some of the deep crevices provide habitat for bats.
A summit-viewing platform has been constructed and walking tracks restored with new Aboriginal interpretive signage and local Aboriginal tour guides.
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