Empty whisky bottles.

It is a known fact that triboluminescence is light resulting from friction at the surface of certain crystalline materials, such as quartz, and quartz is abundant in the area. Under pressure, it creates an electric current called piezoelectricity. The current is capable of ionizing the air into visible luminosities. Piezoelectricity also might ignite gases escaping from sedimentary rock along fractures lines. The gas explanation is reinforced by the history of the Cienaga Mountains. Cienaga is Spanish for "marsh" or "swamp." In the past, the area was wetter and may have produced natural gas. Gas has been found in the Casa Piedra area, south of Marfa, near the Cienaga Mountains. One pilot even reported a patch of phosphorescence the size of a football field, as he flew over the Mitchell Flats at night, and phosphorescent gases can produce luminescence without ignition. So, scientists argue, with the severe heating and cooling of the Earth’s surface in the area, as well as seismic activity. Theories are as prolific as the skeptics are to the theories. There are some who think the lights are caused by swamp gas escaping from underground pockets and igniting. Well...maybe. Only there has not been a swamp in that part of Texas for thousands, perhaps millions of years. What about St. Elmo’s Fire? Possibly, but not very likely. Saint Elmo’s Fire only occurs when conditions are absolutely perfect. The Marfa Lights, on the other hand, are seen year-round in all kinds of weather and under all sorts of different atmospheric conditions. This seems to also rule out ball lightning. The real truth is that no one really knows for sure what causes the Marfa Lights. The legends surrounding them just continue to expand, as more and more research proves nothing. For the people of Marfa, who have grown up with the lights, no explanation is necessary. They have them, and they mean to keep them.