Fire burning for 47 years !
Discussion
I've just been reading one of Bill Bryson's books "A walk in the woods". In it, he mentions a small town in Pennsylvania called "Centralia".
Apparently, the town sits on top of a very big anthracite deposit, which somehow managed to catch fire in 1962, and has burnt since. The seam that is burning, is big enough to burn for a further 250 or so years, according to some estimations!
Here's the wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia,_Pennsylvan...
...and the lat/long for google earth:
40° 48′ 12″ N, 76° 20′ 30″ W
Thought it might appeal to some PH members?
Apparently, the town sits on top of a very big anthracite deposit, which somehow managed to catch fire in 1962, and has burnt since. The seam that is burning, is big enough to burn for a further 250 or so years, according to some estimations!
Here's the wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia,_Pennsylvan...
...and the lat/long for google earth:
40° 48′ 12″ N, 76° 20′ 30″ W
Thought it might appeal to some PH members?
Its a little bit like Hells Gate in Turkmenistan, looks like a fantastic place to go and visit!
http://www.beatsdesign.co.uk/cgi-bin/blog_viewer.p...
http://www.beatsdesign.co.uk/cgi-bin/blog_viewer.p...
TomE said:
Its a little bit like Hells Gate in Turkmenistan, looks like a fantastic place to go and visit!
http://www.beatsdesign.co.uk/cgi-bin/blog_viewer.p...
Wow !!!!http://www.beatsdesign.co.uk/cgi-bin/blog_viewer.p...
As a slight aside a good way to kill a few hours is to search wikipedia for abandoned towns, or 'Ghost Towns'
There's some very interesting circumstances into why entire cities were evacuated and left to rot. Chernobyl being the most famous, but there's plenty of others. I seem to recall a toxic dumping ground meaning a town had to be abandoned in american somewhere can't remember the name for the life of me.
There's some very interesting circumstances into why entire cities were evacuated and left to rot. Chernobyl being the most famous, but there's plenty of others. I seem to recall a toxic dumping ground meaning a town had to be abandoned in american somewhere can't remember the name for the life of me.
Darkslider said:
As a slight aside a good way to kill a few hours is to search wikipedia for abandoned towns, or 'Ghost Towns'
There's some very interesting circumstances into why entire cities were evacuated and left to rot. Chernobyl being the most famous, but there's plenty of others. I seem to recall a toxic dumping ground meaning a town had to be abandoned in american somewhere can't remember the name for the life of me.
that was springfield homers home town There's some very interesting circumstances into why entire cities were evacuated and left to rot. Chernobyl being the most famous, but there's plenty of others. I seem to recall a toxic dumping ground meaning a town had to be abandoned in american somewhere can't remember the name for the life of me.
Visited there last year on our road trip, have waited years for the chance.
On first arriving it was as people had said, empty lots with no-one around. We drove thru what was the town and saw nothing, only a handful of houses that we were mindful to keep away from as apparently some residents don't like the thought of the town being a tourist attraction. We parked up on a deserted side street and went for a wander.
We didn't really know where to go so headed up the road to what turned out to be the rubbish tip where the fire began in 1962, although there wasn't anything there other then dead trees and other associated fauna there was smoke vents in the sides of the hill where gases and steam were escaping from, on inspection we discovered they were extremely hot and could actually feel the heat through my shoes so how close the fire was beneath is anyones guess.
We met a guy on top of the dump with a tasty Dodge Ram Daytona who said he visits reguarly and the best time is during the winter when the steam etc is more prevalent due to the cold temperatures.
After this we headed up to the abandoned highway, this is a section of 4 lane blacktop approx 2 miles long that was abandoned in the mid 90's. Unfortunately it is now covered in graffiti and strewn with rubbish, the cracks in the road have been filled with rubbish and wood in an effort to get them to burn but the fire is too far below to do anything.
The ground had both sunk and risen about 3 ft, even making our speed humps look puny
It was well worth the detour on roads not really suited to a 30ft Rv, hope to visit again one winter to see the full effect.
On first arriving it was as people had said, empty lots with no-one around. We drove thru what was the town and saw nothing, only a handful of houses that we were mindful to keep away from as apparently some residents don't like the thought of the town being a tourist attraction. We parked up on a deserted side street and went for a wander.
We didn't really know where to go so headed up the road to what turned out to be the rubbish tip where the fire began in 1962, although there wasn't anything there other then dead trees and other associated fauna there was smoke vents in the sides of the hill where gases and steam were escaping from, on inspection we discovered they were extremely hot and could actually feel the heat through my shoes so how close the fire was beneath is anyones guess.
We met a guy on top of the dump with a tasty Dodge Ram Daytona who said he visits reguarly and the best time is during the winter when the steam etc is more prevalent due to the cold temperatures.
After this we headed up to the abandoned highway, this is a section of 4 lane blacktop approx 2 miles long that was abandoned in the mid 90's. Unfortunately it is now covered in graffiti and strewn with rubbish, the cracks in the road have been filled with rubbish and wood in an effort to get them to burn but the fire is too far below to do anything.
The ground had both sunk and risen about 3 ft, even making our speed humps look puny
It was well worth the detour on roads not really suited to a 30ft Rv, hope to visit again one winter to see the full effect.
There are warning signs scattered around but its not a particuarly open place, the main highway runs through the town but theres nothing to say what you are passing through anymore so unless you know then you'd be none the wiser. Its also set in the mountain ridges so a good hours drive from the nearest big town/city. I think it took us about 90 mins to drive from Harrisburg. The Police do still patrol the town but unless you're doing anything dangerous then they leave you alone
bimsb6 said:
Darkslider said:
As a slight aside a good way to kill a few hours is to search wikipedia for abandoned towns, or 'Ghost Towns'
There's some very interesting circumstances into why entire cities were evacuated and left to rot. Chernobyl being the most famous, but there's plenty of others. I seem to recall a toxic dumping ground meaning a town had to be abandoned in american somewhere can't remember the name for the life of me.
that was springfield homers home town There's some very interesting circumstances into why entire cities were evacuated and left to rot. Chernobyl being the most famous, but there's plenty of others. I seem to recall a toxic dumping ground meaning a town had to be abandoned in american somewhere can't remember the name for the life of me.
Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff