Among the strange things that have occurred so far, whether before or after the pair of earthquakes that jolted southeastern Türkiye, flames rising from two of the three lakes in the Gölbaşı district of Adıyaman caught the public's attention.

On Feb. 6, Türkiye lived through some of the most powerful and shocking quakes of its history with two 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes hitting the southeastern part of the country, devastating millions of lives. With the geographical changes of the quake, many developing stories of strange events are coming to the fore, such as land fractures, tsunamis, a volcanic mountain, and now, gigantic flames. The flames were reportedly sighted near two of the three lakes in Adıyaman's Gölbaşı district during the earthquakes.

What is Magma?

Ahmet Kırca, who works at the Gölbaşı Municipality Parks and Gardens Directorate, said that guards in the picnic area on the shore of Gölbaşı Lake witnessed the flames. They said it was as if the lake was boiling, and it happened exactly on the night of the earthquake. The guard who was on duty told officials how scared he was. He described it as "magma," "an eruption," "a volcano emerged" and the "entire sky turned red."

Magma is an extremely hot liquid and semi-liquid rock located under the earth’s surface. The Earth has a layered structure that consists of the inner core, outer core, mantle and crust. Much of the planet’s mantle consists of magma. This magma can push through holes or cracks in the crust, causing a volcanic eruption. When magma flows or erupts onto Earth’s surface, it is called lava.

Fevzi Zincidi, one of the villagers who saw the flames rising from the Inekli Lake, said: "First, there was a loud noise, and we thought it was an explosion. The children thought that a bomb had just been dropped. Then the red lights and flames emerged from the opposite end of the lake, and we thought it was a natural gas explosion, but then the quake jolted and we lost our senses," he expressed.

Gölbaşı, Inekli and Azaplı lakes are located within the borders of the Gölbaşı district of Adıyaman, whose formations are karst tectonic – barren, rocky ground, caves, sinkholes, underground rivers, and the absence of surface streams and lakes. Conditions that promote karst development are well-joined, dense limestone near the surface, moderate to heavy rainfall and good groundwater circulation.