The mystery of New York's eternal flame: Baffled scientists admit they are unsure where the gas that keeps landmark burning comes from

For years, scientists thought that the eternal flame in New York was kept alight by gas produced by ancient, extremely hot rocks.

However, researchers from Indiana University have discovered that the rocks underneath the Chestnut Ridge County Park aren't hot enough to produce this gas, which means another process is producing the gas that's keeping the flame burning. 

The New York eternal flame is found in the Eternal Flame Falls, a small waterfall in the Shale Creek Preserve at the Chestnut Ridge Park. A small chamber under the waterfall produces natural gas, which keeps the flame alight. Researchers from Indiana University are unsure the source of this gas, after previous theories were disproved

And they have not been able to identify exactly what the process is

The eternal flame sits behind a waterfall in western New York. 

It is said to have been lit thousands of years ago by Native Americans. 

There are hundreds of 'natural' eternal flames around the world, and each one is thought to be kept alight by natural gas produced from the rocks beneath it. 

It goes to show that there are mysteries that can never be unravelled.