Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

The Toraghay mud volcano erupted in Garadagh district of Baku on March 1.

The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources informs that there are no residential areas in the vicinity of the volcano.

The ministry’s experts are currently examining the eruption and its consequences.

The Toraghay mud volcano belongs to the State Nature Reserve. There have been 10 eruptions so far. The last time the volcano erupted was in 1988.

In January, mud volcano erupted in Shamakhi region. The volcano began to erupt on January 15 at about 1:00am. The local residents were awakened by the sound of the volcano. Mud spread to the territory of 60 square meters.

Over a thousand mud volcanoes are known to exist in the world, and some 400 are located in the coastal area of Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea.

The world’s largest mud volcanoes - Boyuk Khanizadagh and Turaghai - are both in Azerbaijan. Boyuk Khanizadagh, the diameter and height of which are 10 kilometers and 700 meters respectively, erupted on October 10, 2001, shooting out flames 300 meters in the air. It was the highest record for flames shot from a mud volcano.

Mud volcanoes are a fairly widespread geological phenomenon. The dissemination of mud volcanoes usually indicates the existence of large oil and gas basins, so the large number of mud volcanoes in Azerbaijan reaffirms its richness and attracts the attention of scientists from all over the world.

Azerbaijan’s rich fields of oil and gas condensate such as Lokbatan, Garadagh, Oil Rocks, and Mishovdag were discovered near mud volcanoes.

The lava, mud, and liquid spewed by mud volcanoes are used as raw materials for chemical and construction industries, as well as pharmacology.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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