Subscribe:

Pages

Friday 27 January 2012

Kayangan Api

In the middle of a thick forest at Sendangharjo Village, in Bojonegoro, East Java, Indonesia there is an eternal flame. The flame never turns off even though there is rain or storm. The name of the eternal flame is Kayangan Api (Heavenly Fire).

The flame burns out of the earth. At first, the color is blue, then it changes into orange as if there is a dragon hiding underground and never stops bursting fire. According to a legend, Kayangan Api was the powerful place where powerful Keris (one of Indonesian traditional weapon, looks like a sword) were made during Majapahit Kingdom (It used to be one of the most powerful kingdom in Indonesian. Extended from Java, Sumatra, Malaya Peninsula, Kalimantan, Papua, Malaysia, Singapore, Timor Leste, and some parts of Myanmar).

The legend can tell us that Kayangan Api was the powerful fire of Keris makers. But, geologists believe that Kayangan Api is the sign of the existence of "Black Gold". Black Gold is petroleum.

Bojonegoro surrounding really contains a lot of petroleum. The petroleum is stored 3000 meters underground. Usually the petroleum pools have gas pools above them.

Long ago, there was a big earthquake so the surface of the ground at Sendangharjo cracked. The gas then evaporates from the center of the earth. The reaches 30 centimeters above the ground, then it disappears, mixing with the air around it. But, when there is a lightning stricking the gas, the gas catches fire and buns eternally. That's how Kayangan Api is formed.