One of Earth's nine 'eternal flames' discovered inside a waterfall

If you needed reminding just how incredible nature is, one of the Earth’s ‘eternal flames’ has been captured in a staggering video posted on social media.

The beautiful natural feature shows a “never-ending” flame tucked away behind a waterfall and it was captured by Mike Loughran, who goes by @fishlikemike on Instagram.

The video, which has been viewed more than 21 million times, shows the amazing feature in Buffalo, upstate New York.

Footage recorded in January showcases the Eternal Flame Falls in Orchard Park, and despite the icy conditions and nearby waterfall the flame is burning strongly in the clip.

Writing in the video caption, Loughran said: “A rare naturally occurring eternal flame!

“This flame is one of the 9 big naturally occurring eternal flames we have here on earth. Some argue there are more, but many refer to the 9 big ones.

“This flame here is one of the more famous eternal flames due to it’s location inside of a waterfall. They occur because of cracks in the earth that leak a combination of natural gases.”

As Loughran went on to say, the flames can either be initially lit by humans or naturally via a lightning strike – before adding that “some say this flame was lit by Native Americans hundreds of years ago”.

While the true number of naturally occurring flames like this one is unknown, one of the most famous sits at the top of a mountain in southwest Turkey, known as the Flames of Chimaera.

Just like the one captured by Loughran, the flaming mountaintop is gas escaping from deep within the earth.

“We have discovered these unusual types of methane in many, many sites. It’s not a rare phenomenon,” said Giuseppe Etiope, a member of the group who helped discover the cause of the Flames of Chimaera in 2014.

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