(ORDO NEWS) — The volcanic complex of Kawah Ijen stretches for 22 kilometers in East Java (Indonesia).
This vast stretch of complex geological formations boasts stunning daylight views, with electric blue lava flows erupting from the mountains at nightfall.
It is believed that this is the only place on the planet where this amazingly blue flame constantly burns.
The beauty of the Kawah Ijen volcano comes at a price, as high sulfur levels make the air surrounding the complex toxic to anyone who breathes it.
At first glance, the Ijen volcano looks like a normal stream of red-hot, boiling molten rock with a temperature of 600-900°C. So what makes a mountain sunset turn into something out of a sci-fi movie?
The blue lava phenomenon is caused by the abundance of sulfur pockets in the rock.
Sulfur is a chemical element that is released when rock liquefies, which releases harmful gases such as sulfur dioxide when burned. It also creates a striking blue flame.
When this sulfur comes into contact with oxygen, it ignites, causing a blue flame that gives the lava its blue color, but it’s actually just a surface of molten rock that is covered in blue flames.
Although only visible at night, the blue flame always burns on the surface of lava, it’s just harder to see in daylight.
Kawah Ijen is a vast volcanic complex that is actually inside a crater (caldera) that forms when a volcano erupts and collapses, often creating a large lake at its center.
The Ijen complex contains about 22 eruption points, mostly along the rim of the caldera.
The water in the Ijen volcano crater is an attractive bright turquoise color, but again, don’t let its beauty fool you, as it is the largest acid lake.
Swimming in these waters can be life threatening or at the very least cause serious injury.
The abundance of sulfur in the area, referred to locally as “devil’s gold”, means that the complex also has one of the few manual sulfur mining activities.
After the sulfur-rich rock has cooled and the blue flames have been extinguished, it is harvested for use in certain products.
While in these places, tourists immediately put on gas masks, but many miners cannot afford protective masks and instead use a simple cloth to cover their mouths.
Without proper protective gear, many sulfur miners suffer serious illness, with a third suffering from regular respiratory illnesses.
Although the Kawah Ijen volcano may be the only one with a constantly burning blue flame, in fact this amazing phenomenon can occur anywhere where there is a high content of certain gases.
For example, there are reports of blue flames being observed during a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park (USA), where sulfur surrounding hydrothermal vents caught fire.
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