Burning Mountain and Mud Volcanoes of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan is known for its abundance of mud volcanoes, with over 400 of them located throughout the country. Some of the most well-known mud volcanoes in Azerbaijan include Gobustan and Dashgil
Yanardag (the Burning Mountain) is one of Azerbaijan’s most famous sights, home to natural flames that have been burning for thousands of years.
The Yanar Dag, also known as the Burning Mountain, is one of the most famous mud volcanoes in Azerbaijan. It is located on the Absheron Peninsula, near the capital city of Baku, and has been burning for centuries. The flames are caused by the ignition of natural gas that seeps through the ground.
Mud Volcanoes
Gobustan is popular mud volcano site in Azerbaijan. Post-apocalyptic is the only way to describe the landscape in Gobustan National Park. Situated just 67km south of Baku (or an hour’s drive) along the Caspian coast, Gobustan (Qobustan) is all rock and oozing mud, scars and craters.
Dashgil is another notable mud volcano site in Azerbaijan, located near the Caspian Sea. It is home to several large mud volcanoes, as well as hot springs and mineral deposits.
Mud volcanoes in Azerbaijan are not only a popular tourist attraction but are also a source of valuable resources such as natural gas, oil, and minerals
There are over 140 offshore mud volcanoes within the Caspian Sea. Eight Islands within the Baku archipelago were generated by mud volcanic eruptions (Khara-Zira, Zanbil, Garasu, Gil, Sangi-Mughan, Chigmil, etc). Buried mud volcanoes have been encountered by exploration wells. Ancient activities of mud volcanoes were identified among various age stratigraphic units. It is suggested that mud volcanoes activity within the Republic of Azerbaijan about 25,000 years ago. Usually, mud volcanoes eruption begins with a subsurface rumble followed by a strong burst. Gases coming out to the surface from deeply buried formations get ignited and blaze up. Flame tongues may at times reach up to 1000m high (Garasu mud volcano).
Observations indicate that 50 mud volcanoes have burst about 200 times since 1810 in Azerbaijan. Lock-Batan mud volcano erupted 19 times during that period.
Mud volcanoes erupt mud, solid rock fragments, gas, and water. Mud volcanoes outbursts contain over 100 minerals and up to 30 chemical microelements (such as barite, mercury, manganese, copper, barium, strontium, lithium, etc). The origin of mud volcanoes is associated with buried hydrocarbon deposits. Prolific oil and gas -condensate fields have been discovered in areas characterized by mud volcanoes development (Lock-Batan, Neft Dashlary, Garadagh, Mishovdagh, etc). Mud volcanoes outbursts are used as the medical row material.
