The Earth Story

Mud volcano erupting in Azerbaijan

Here a photographer has caught a mud volcano literally in the act; spurting mud upward into the air.

A mud volcano is a place on the Earth where a mixture of water, gases, and mud pours out from beneath. As mud dries, it will solidify, so mud volcanoes often build cones around them that resemble the shapes made by solidifying lava on the slopes of volcanic cones, even if the ones around mud volcanoes are smaller.

For a mud volcano to occur, a couple conditions must be present. There must be mud, mixed with water, and there must be some pressure gradient that drives the mud up to the surface through a crack. These conditions can be met in areas that are hydrothermally active, as occur in Yellowstone, or in areas that are full of gassy hydrocarbons like Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan hosts several hundred mud volcanoes, more than any other country in the world. The mixture of mud and water is carried to the surface as natural gas leaks out from below; effectively marking the locations of some of the country’s gas fields. Some of these leaks will constantly stay on fire; others will actually explode on occasion.

-JBB

Image credit: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bubbling_Mud_Volcano_(3860838997).jpg

Read more: http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mud-volcanoes-of-azerbaijan http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/azerbaijan/mud-volcanoes.html

Slow motion mud volcano

Colorful views of a Mud Volcano driven by bubbling up hydrocarbons in Azerbaijan

This is a particularly thick mud volcano, Azerbaijan

mud volcano, Azerbaijan 

There are some incredible views in here. Maybe the end result of driving across Asia, but anyway. Here’s the full caption:

Mud volcano erupting in Azerbaijan Here a photographer has caught a mud volcano literally in the act; spurting mud upward into the air. A mud volcano is a place on the Earth where a mixture of water, gases, and mud pours out from beneath. As mud dries, it will solidify, so mud volcanoes often build cones around them that resemble the shapes made by solidifying lava on the slopes of volcanic cones, even if the ones around mud volcanoes are smaller. For a mud volcano to occur, a couple conditions must be present. There must be mud, mixed with water, and there must be some pressure gradient that drives the mud up to the surface through a crack. These conditions can be met in areas that are hydrothermally active, as occur in Yellowstone, or in areas that are full of gassy hydrocarbons like Azerbaijan.  Azerbaijan hosts several hundred mud volcanoes, more than any other country in the world. The mixture of mud and water is carried to the surface as natural gas leaks out from below; effectively marking the locations of some of the country’s gas fields. Some of these leaks will constantly stay on fire; others will actually explode on occasion. -JBB Image credit:http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bubbling_Mud_Volcano_(3860838997).jpg Read more: http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mud-volcanoes-of-azerbaijan http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/azerbaijan/mud-volcanoes.html

YANAR DAG, AZERBAIJAN This is Yanar Dag, Azerbaijani for "Fire Mountain". It is a natural gas fire that blazes continuously on a hill on Apsheron peninsula, on the Caspian Sea near Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Flames spurt 3 metres into the air from a thin, porous sandstone layer at the foot of a 9.1 metre wide scarp below a hillside. The continuous flame is fuelled by the steady seep of gas from underlying soils under the surface. Legend has it that a local shepherd started this fire in 1958 when he discarded a cigarette near the hill, which then ignited the gas that seeped through the rock.  Azerbaijan has been known as Land of Fire since Persian times, with the Persian word ‘Aturpatakan’, meaning “a place where sacred fire is preserved”. Oil has been extracted in the Absheron peninsula since 7–6th Centuries BCE. Natural fires occur often in Azerbaijan and other sites throughout the South Caucasus because of gas igniting as it escapes from the ground. Travellers such as Marco Polo and Alexandre Dumas described such “flares from nowhere”. In ancient Azerbaijan, fire worship was a traditional form of worship; Zoroastrianism spread throughout the country.  View a video of the burning mountain here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TjQfBaZQAg Yesterday, we posted about Yanar Bulag (‘burning spring’), a spring in Azerbaijani that emits water and fire at the same time:http://on.fb.me/Rw54q0 . -TEL http://teas.eu/welcome-to-azerbaijan; http://englishrussia.com/2012/10/07/the-burning-hill/ Image: http://stevehollier.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/2010_1024suraxani-yanardag0070.jpg

YANAR BULAG, AZERBAIJAN Yanar Bulag (‘burning spring’), a spring that emits water and fire at the same time, is 6 kilometres north of central Astara in southern Azerbaijan. Water flows from a metal stand pipe inside a small pavilion; when a match or other ignition source is touched to the water, the water ignites in fire. This occurs as the water has very high methane content, though locals believe the water from the springs has remedial properties. People in the region collect water from the spring, and tourists often take a drink of the water while the pipe’s top is lit.  Zoroastrianism, a religion where fire and water are considered agents of ritual purity, was founded in this region 2,500 years age. Zoroastrianism is now a minority religion in the area.  If drinking water infused with methane isn't your thing, you can always visit Naftalan, another city in Azerbaijan. There is a spa there where you can bathe in oil: http://on.fb.me/QgeDJj -TEL http://atlasobscura.com/place/fire-spring-yanar-bulag; http://discoverazerbaijan.az/en/astara/; http://www.lonelyplanet.com/azerbaijan/southern-azerbaijan/astara/sights/water/yanar-bulag Image: M Connor http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5213/5458165699_d3b486d780.jpg