Mud Volcano Erupts in Baku

Late Sunday night in Baku’s Haradag district, mud volcano Otman-Bozdagh erupted for the fifth time in the last two years. The eruption blasted black smoke and flames 300 meters into the air, and officials from Azerbaijan's Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources say they discovered cracks in the area up to 40 meters deep. Small eruptions are expected to continue for several days. No settlements are located in the radius of the volcano.

Prior to the five eruptions in the last two years, the last eruption was in 2004. The volcano began spewing ash and lava at the same time as torrential rain hit Baku. The main streets flooded along with some metro stations.

Otman-Bozdagh is believed to be the world's second largest mud volcano. Approximately 400 of the world's estimated 1,000 mud volcanoes are thought to be located in Azerbaijan’s coastal region. Also called sedimentary volcanoes, mod volcanoes are smaller than normal volcanoes, and are often found on top of oil fields.

By Samantha Guthrie

Photo: Ministry of Ecology of Azerbaijan