Eternal Flame Falls: Keeping the fire alive

In a humble corner of Chestnut Ridge Park in Western New York, is the Eternal Flame Falls. As the same suggests, there is a flame that keeps burning, in a small cave, behind the screen of water.

What feeds the flame has, for long, been a matter of debate. Scientifically, such ‘eternal’ flames are fuelled by natural gases passing through visible natural passages, known as ‘macro seeps’ in the soil. While the gas, usually methane, seeps through the soil, bacteria convert it into carbon dioxide.

The ‘macro seep’ of the Eternal Flame Falls is, however, a natural, hollow chamber, in which the gas is contained without converting, which keeps the flame from extinguishing