The Burning Cliff
The name 'Burning Cliff' dates from 1826 when an underground fire smouldered for several years at Ringstead, Dorset. It was caused by natural ignition of oil shale, an event that apparently happens a couple of times each century somewhere along the Purbeck coastline. In the photo above you can quite clearly see the telltale signs of oil, not from a leak or a spill but appearing naturally as a result of the local geology.
I'm not aware of other areas in the UK where this happens. However there are several places in e.g. Turkey where small fires (chimera) burn constantly through vents in the rocks fuelled by gas emissions.
Flickr Explore # 136 on Monday, March 13, 2017.
The Burning Cliff
The name 'Burning Cliff' dates from 1826 when an underground fire smouldered for several years at Ringstead, Dorset. It was caused by natural ignition of oil shale, an event that apparently happens a couple of times each century somewhere along the Purbeck coastline. In the photo above you can quite clearly see the telltale signs of oil, not from a leak or a spill but appearing naturally as a result of the local geology.
I'm not aware of other areas in the UK where this happens. However there are several places in e.g. Turkey where small fires (chimera) burn constantly through vents in the rocks fuelled by gas emissions.
Flickr Explore # 136 on Monday, March 13, 2017.