Mud Volcano Lokbatan Woke

Today at about 5:00 a.m. the eruption of the mud volcano Lokbatan started in the Baku suburbs. It is near the eponymous village (10 km southwest of Baku).

According to witnesses, the flame height is up to 5-10 meters, and roar is heard from the ground. From the crater of the volcano flames and smoke erupt.

The height of the hill is about 100 meters and it is located 2 km away from the village. The eruption creates no danger to the village, as the rock ejected from the crater flies within 100 meters.

Commenting the eruption for Turan, the chief scientist at the Department of Mud Volcanoes in the Institute of Geology of the National Academy of Sciences, Ph.D. in Geology and Mineralogy Orkhan Abbas said that the mud volcano Lokbatan last erupted on Feb. 4, 2010.

On record since 1826 there have been 24 eruptions registered. According to the scientist, mud volcanoes extinguish rapidly (within a day or a few hours), because they have little energy.

The volcano Lokbatan is remarkable because it refuted the hypothesis that mud volcanoes do not include oil and gas. So, in 1933, Oil Well No 45 was opened in the area, producing oil up to now.

There are dozens of mud volcanoes in Azerbaijan, most of which are located on the Absheron Peninsula and in the spurs of the Greater Caucasus. Their periodic eruptions have never led to serious problems or victims. Torrents of mud are the only damage. -06C-