Map reveals the world’s mysterious eternal flames
It isn’t Niagara, the roaring, foaming monster just north of the city. In comparison, this waterfall is just a trickle, a leaky tap to Niagara’s fire hose.
It hides one of the world’s ‘eternal flames’. Just as the name suggests, these intriguing fires are almost impossible to extinguish, and are found across the globe.
Some are big, like the ‘Gates of Hell’ in Turkmenistan. Some are small, like the blue flame of India’s Jwala Ji temple. But they burn away, night and day, minding their own business – some for possibly thousands of years.
How they came to be ignited however is often a mystery. It could have been a lightning strike, or perhaps a wildfire. Many have been deliberately lit however, often as a symbol of religious or historical significance.
Because of their nature, and often small size, there could be others we have yet to discover, but those we do know about provide more than enough fascination for now.
