Burning Mountain, Nature reserve in Wingen, Australia.

Burning Mountain is a hill near Wingen, New South Wales, where a coal seam about 30 m below the surface has smouldered for roughly 6,000 years. The combustion has discoloured the soil and left an uneven ground surface: loose reddish-brown dirt with scattered stones gives way upslope to a band of pale grey, ash-like material, with sparse dry vegetation and a few low green shrubs along the crest.

European settlers in the early 19th century believed the smoking mountain was a volcano until geologist Reverend Wilton proved in 1829 that it was a burning coal seam. Radiocarbon dating later revealed that the fire began around 6000 years ago, probably ignited by lightning.

The Aboriginal name Wingen means "fire". A story tells that a tribesman, carried underground by The Evil One, set the mountain alight with his fire stick so the smoke would warn others away. A trail with information panels leads from the parking lots to where smoke rises from the ground.

The return trail runs for two kilometers (1.2 miles) through the reserve and climbs moderately, requiring sturdy shoes and enough drinking water. Information panels along the path explain geological phenomena and point to places where the ground temperature rises noticeably.

The fire lies about 30 m (100 ft) below the surface and is estimated to have burned for roughly 6,000 years, the oldest known coal fire. Its slow southerly creep has discoloured the soil and left the uneven ground surface visible on the slope today.