The Smoking Hills have fascinated explorers for centuries and are one of the few naturally occurring phenomena of continuous combustion. Fires fueled by the combustion of oil shales exposed to the air burn the sulfurous shale causing thick, billowing smoke to rise from the cliffs. The persistent odor of sulfur permeates the air. Smoking Hills are located on the shore of the Amundsen Gulf, approaching Cape Bathurst. We waited for the fog to clear along the coast. We could smell the distinctive odor of Sulphur. Plumes of smoke and a craggy landscape seemed to be painted with the colors; the sulfur dioxide had stained the rock yellow, orange and red.
