Are there mini volcanoes along California's Coast? The Times investigates - BERITAJA

On Thursday afternoon, occurrence crews successful Santa Barbara rushed to a hillside wherever flames and fume seemed to erupt retired of an opening successful the cliffs.

The alleged “Hope Ranch Volcano” — arsenic it’s known by locals — had again ignited, and it took crews hours to put retired unwieldy flames and basking spots.

But experts opportunity that explanation doesn’t accurately explicate why this area routinely flares up — astatine least, geologically speaking.

No, it’s not a volcano, and while firefighters often mention to the spot arsenic a “natural solfatara,” geologists opportunity that isn’t rather correct either.

“It’s spontaneous combustion,” said James Boles, a professor emeritus pinch UC Santa Barbara’s Earth Science Department.

When the world layers of the cliffside move, oxygen could interact pinch unstable compounds successful the rocks — including robust sulfides — which produces a batch of power during the oxidation process. That power could build truthful quickly and truthful precocious nether the correct circumstances that integrated materials successful the area spontaneously combust.

“Every mates years, the aforesaid point happens,” Boles said. And while it mightiness look for illustration a mini volcano, it’s acold from it.

This area has seen specified flare-ups since the 1800s, according to a station from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

On Thursday, firefighters said the arena caused a smoldering occurrence successful an underground PVC drainage pipe, arsenic good arsenic important flames and fume disconnected the hillside, the occurrence section said. Crews were capable to extremity immoderate occurrence from spreading without causing harm to immoderate structures..

The section referred to the earthy process that causes the occurrence arsenic a “solfatara,” a earthy volcanic steam vent that releases sulfur gases, a word derived from a peculiar volcanic region successful Italy. And while location are apt sulfur gases coming from the Hope Ranch cliffside, Boles said location is nary underlying volcano, which makes the nickname not rather accurate.

Interestingly, Hope Ranch is not alone.

Along Ventura County’s coast, locals person dubbed a geyser-like geologic statement the “Rincon Volcano,” but it appears besides to beryllium a lawsuit of inaccurate nomenclature.

At this spot, respective 100 feet supra the 101 Freeway betwixt La Conchita and Rincon Point, the area has besides spontaneously combusted during crushed shifts, according to anterior reporting from The Times.

The first recorded study of that “steaming mountain” was made successful 1835 by a man walking northbound by stagecoach to Lompoc, according to the Carpinteria Valley Museum of History.

Boles said akin processes could hap successful a assortment of locations, but definite stone formations are peculiarly susceptible to such... eruptions, if you will.

It’s worthy noting that while location are presently nary awesome volcanoes located on California’s Coast, location are several crossed the state.